IOC seeks 16,800T for March

SINGAPORE, Feb 15 (Reuters) Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) is seeking 16,800 tonnes of fuel oil for mid-march delivery in its regular monthly tender, higher than February imports, a tender document showed on Thursday.

The three 125 to 180-centistoke (cst) cargoes, of 3.2 percent sulphur and 0.97 density, are for March 15-19 delivery on a three-port discharge and cost-and-freight (C&F) basis.

The first portion is a 6,300-tonne lot for delivery to Tuticorin, while the second is a 5,000-tonne parcel for delivery to Kochi. A final 5,500-tonne lot is for delivery to Goa.

The tender closes on Feb. 22 and will remain valid until the next day.

The Asian market has eased this month. The forward fuel oil market, which saw the February-March intermonth spread at a record high of .50 last week, has weakened to .00.

The tight market has eased with 2.2-2.3 million tonnes of fuel oil from Western arbitrage coming into Asia. About 70 percent of the cargoes are expected to arrive in the second half of the month.

The state firm last bought 11,300 tonnes for February delivery.

REUTERS PV DS1545