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Europe faces a fourth-quarter jet fuel deficit, even as it turns \u200cto far-flung suppliers including South Korea, which is set to boost its jet exports to Europe to a four-year high in September, according to analysts and shipping data.<\/strong><\/p>\n The continent has been importing more jet fuel from nations including Nigeria, the United States and Canada since \u200bthe outbreak of the Iran war over half a year ago, which hit Middle East supplies and \u200bcut off around half of Europe\u2019s jet imports.<\/p>\n Europe remains highly exposed to the risk \u2060of further supply disruption as Middle Eastern tensions rise. Consultancy Energy Aspects forecasts that Europe will see a fourth-quarter \u200bjet fuel deficit of 510,000 barrels per day, against surpluses of 18,000 bpd in the United States and 419,000 \u200bbpd in Asia-Pacific. The third-quarter trend is largely the same.<\/p>\n South Korea in September has become the latest large source of jet fuel shipments to Europe, according to flows data. European imports of the fuel from the Asian nation so far in September stand at 129,000 \u200bbarrels per day according to commodities intelligence firm Kpler, the highest since October 2022. LSEG data shows similar \u200bvolumes.<\/p>\n With the continent expected to remain short of jet fuel, Europe\u2019s imports are set to continue, said James Noel-Beswick, head of commodities \u200cat \u2060market intelligence firm Sparta Commodities.<\/p>\n Jet fuel is one of the so-called middle distillates, which include diesel and gas oil. European diesel hit a record high this week, firmer than Asia\u2019s diesel markets.<\/p>\n The widening spread between the Asian and European benchmarks is making it more profitable to export barrels into Europe, Noel-Beswick added.<\/p>\n EUROPE\u2019S JET FUEL STOCKS DROP<\/strong><\/p>\n Imports from South Korea \u200balso coincide with low inventories, \u200bwith stocks held independently \u2060in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) oil refining and storage hub hitting their lowest in seven years in the week to September 10.<\/p>\n Asia is a swing supplier of jet fuel to Europe \u200band traders typically turn there when they judge the arbitrage \u2013 the relative prices between \u200bthe two regions \u2013 \u2060profitable. Average monthly exports last year were 1.5 million barrels, Kpler data showed.<\/p>\n South Korea\u2019s jet fuel output for July hit a seven-year high of almost 13.89 million barrels, while exports reached a 3-1\/2-year high, government data showed. ,<\/p>\n An increase in refinery \u2060crude processing \u200brates has contributed to this rise in output, and traders expect \u200bcrude runs for August to be firmer than July. Provisional government data showed July refining runs at 2.7 million barrels per day, up by \u200b16% from June.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n