BPCL offers 30kt for mid-June

SINGAPORE, June 7 (Reuters) India's Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) has issued a tender offering 40,000 tonnes of prompt June-loading fuel oil, bringing total Indian volumes for June to a seven-month high 330,000 tonnes, traders said today.

The 380-centistoke (cst) parcel, of maximum 4 per cent sulphur and 0.99 density, is for loading on June 18-22 from the refiner's Mumbai terminal, on a free-on-board (FOB) basis. The tender closes today and will remain valid till a day later.

''The parcel is quite prompt and comes soon after they cancelled their last tender. It could be the same cargo and they could decide to try their luck again because the prompt market has improved significantly,'' a Singapore-based Asian trader said.

BPCL last offered three 25,000-tonne lots for June-August loading but cancelled the tender due to low bids.

But the East Asian market has more turned bullish over the last five days, rising from a discount of .00 a tonne to a month-high premium of .20 on Wednesday.

However, interest in Indian cargoes, typically of high density and sulphur content, has waned in recent weeks. The last such parcel, sold by Indian Oil Corp., was done at a discount of - to spot quotes, down from a - discount previously.

REUTERS PM DS1406