Middle distillate prices largely followed the ICE gasoil futures contract in the week to March 7, which jumped on Monday but then stumbled as tensions surrounding the Ukrainian crisis eased. ULSD barge differentials were lifted by a drop in imports from the US Gulf Coast, but the upside was limited as an increase of shipments from Russia was expected to offset the volumes. The volume of diesel sent to Europe from the US in March is pegged at about 700K mt (5.3MM bbl), roughly half of Feb.'s volume. Arrivals from the Baltic Sea, however, are expected to rise to 1.7MM mt (12.8MM bbl) in March. "Europe will still be oversupplied thanks to the Russians," a trader noted. Imports were also seen weighing on jet fuel sentiment. Nearly 2MM mt (15MM bbl) of aviation fuel from Asia and the Middle East are expected to land on European shores in March, despite weak demand in Europe. "Imports are going to be around 400K mt (3MM bbl) higher than last year and will flood the market," a trader remarked. However, the International Air Transport Assoc. (IATA) reported at mid-week that the region's passenger air traffic climbed 6.4% in Jan. Meanwhile, heating oil prices slipped, despite demand from Germany that inched up.
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