IOC sells 30KT late-January high-sulphur at higher price

SINGAPORE, Jan 11 (Reuters) Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) has sold via tender 30,000 tonnes of late-January high-sulphur, high-density fuel oil at firmer prices amid a tightening market, traders said on Thursday.

The 380-centistoke (cst) cargo, for Jan. 27-31 loading from the refiner's Chennai terminal, was sold to Japan's Marubeni International Petroleum Co. at a discount of around a tonne to IOC formula pricing on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, up from a discount previously.

''The higher strike price is no surprise, with the market being as tight as it is. But, by the time the cargo arrives, it would be February and things could be very different then,'' a Singapore-based Asian trader said.

The refiner's previous parcel, of similar specifications with 4.5 percent sulphur content and 0.995 density, was also sold to Marubeni.

The cargo, as with most high-viscosity, high-density Indian offerings, is expected to be sold into the Singapore marine fuels market, which reported record-high sales volumes of 28.4 million tonnes for 2006.

This is the year's first parcel from Indian refiners. Last year, India exported a total of 3.19 million tonnes of fuel oil, well above 1.83 million tonnes in 2005.

REUTERS CS HT1202