IOC offers 60,000T May-June

SINGAPORE, May 7 (Reuters) Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) has issued a rare tender offering two fuel oil cargoes for May and June loading, only its second export tender this year, industry sources said on Monday.

The two 380-centistoke (cst) cargoes of 30,000 tonnes each, of 4.5 percent sulphur and 0.997 density, are for loading from the refiner's Chennai terminal on May 25-30 and June 3-8, on a free-on-board basis.

The tender closes on Thursday and will remain valid till a day later.

Traders said IOC's offer coincides with India's peak export season, which starts from this month.

In total, Indian refiners have sold or offered 250,000 tonnes this month, the year's highest volume, but still below last May's 336,000 tonnes.

''We should start seeing more Indian exports from now. The timing is also good because the market is still relatively tight and IOC was probably encouraged by HPCL's recent sale to offer two cargoes at one go,'' a Singapore-based Asian trader said.

Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (HPCL) last sold a June-loading cargo of similar specification at a discount of a tonne to Singapore spot quotes, above typical levels of around minus .

The Asian market is expected to remain firm this month, as it has been since second-half February, due to low supply volumes from the West and the Middle East.

Western flows are expected at 2.4-2.5 million tonnes for next month, down 30 percent from April, and Middle Eastern supplies are limited by peak domestic summer demand and a planned month-long turnaround at Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura refinery.

REUTERS SR DS1125