Jet fuel demand to see gradual, but slow increase
SIA Group’s Aug operating results reflect renewed optimism
Demand for jet fuel in Asia is likely to be on the path to recovery, with some countries opting to reopen even as the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus lingers, middle distillate sources told S&P Global Platts.
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Traders said with the inoculation campaigns underway and a shift to ‘zero-COVID’ policy by some countries, reopening of a large portion of the region might have a positive knock-on effect on jet fuel demand.
A glimpse of recovery was seen in the latest report released Sept. 15 by Singapore Airlines Group, which showed it flew 155,400 passengers in August, compared with just 39,800 passengers over the same month last year. The airline carried about 1.1 million passengers in March 2020, before pandemic-induced border restrictions severely crippled air travel globally.
Industry sources said Singapore Airlines Group’s August operating statistics reflect some optimism that recovery in air travel can be maintained in the second half of 2021, in line with Singapore’s progressive reopening. Passenger demand should see further uplift with the establishment of vaccinated travel lanes between Singapore, Germany and Brunei on Sept. 8, in addition to a quarantine-free travel policy for visitors from Hong Kong and Macao on Aug. 26.
“Globally, some countries with high rates of vaccination are learning to live with the coronavirus. In Asia, Singapore is slowly opening up by allowing quarantine-free travel for those who are fully vaccinated with a few selected countries. Other countries are likely to follow amid a wider rollout of vaccines in the region,” JY Lim, advisor, oil markets at S&P Global Platts Analytics said.
Lim added that while the…