Indian Oil Corp offers Dec-Jan lot

SINGAPORE, Dec 1 (Reuters) Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) has issued a tender offering a December-January loading fuel oil parcel, a tender document showed.

The 30,000-tonne cargo of 380-centistoke (cst) fuel oil, of 0.995 density and 4.5 percent sulphur content, is for Dec. 31-Jan. 4 loading from the company's Chennai refinery on a free-on-board (FOB) basis.

Logistical details must be submitted by Dec. 4, while the deadline for price offers falls on Dec. 5 and will remain valid till late on Dec. 6.

In a previous export tender, the refiner sold a similar parcel to U.S.-based Cargill International at a discount of - a tonne to Singapore spot quotes.

The Asian fuel oil market in December is projected to be soft as Western inflows are expected to be at 2.2-2.3 million tonnes versus 1.7-18 million tonnes in November.

Tepid demand from China for November totalling about 830,000 tonnes, well below the monthly average of 1.01 million tonnes so far this year, is pressuring the market further.

India's total volumes sold thus far for 2006 are at a two-year high at 3.02 million tonnes, well above last year's 1.83 million tonnes.

REUTERS CS ND1214