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SINGAPORE, Oct 6 (Reuters) Mangalore Refinery&Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) has sold 80,000 tonnes of November fuel oil at stable prices via tender, after selling a similar lot at unexpectedly high levels earlier this week, traders said on Friday.

The 380-centistoke (cst) cargo, for Nov. 2-4 loading from its New Mangalore refinery, was sold to Japan's Mitsui Oil Asia at a discount of $9-$10 a tonne to Singapore spot quotes, on a free-on-board (FOB) basis.

MRPL last sold a similar October-loading parcel, of 0.99 kg per cubic metre density and 3.5 percent sulphur, to Mitsui at a discount of about $8.00-$9.00 a tonne to Singapore spot quotes, FOB.

''This is the second time that Mitsui has paid what is perceived as above-market levels for the cargo. It is unlikely that they are taking such a huge punt that the 380-cst market will show strong premiums next month given the rising freight rates,'' a Singapore-based Western trader said.

''Competition for the cargo was quite keen with at least two other parties coming up with bids that were quite close to the winning bid. It would suggest that the market is starting to be short on density as MRPL cargoes are typically low-density.'' Westport Petroleum International, a wholly owned unit of Mitsui, has chartered the 80,000-tonne aframax Desh Prem to deliver the October cargo to Singapore at around $850,000, or $10.50 a tonne.

Traders said Westport had large volumes of high-density materials that would need to be blended down to meet Asian bunker fuel specifications.

The MRPL cargoes, typically of around 0.97 kg per cubic metre density, are ideal for this purpose, they added.

Freight rates for aframax tankers plying the Mangalore-Singapore route are currently discussed at $900,000-$1 million, or about $11.25-$12.50 a tonne.

This would yield a landed cost of around $2-$3 a tonne. The cargo discount for 380-cst closed at $1.45 a tonne on Thursday while the bunker premium had slipped steadily to $1-$2 a tonne this week.

Traders said it was unlikely that the MRPL cargoes would be sold directly into the market, given the current economics.

REUTERS CS KP1129