South Korea’s May Jet Fuel Exports Hit Nine-Month High on Strong Cracks, No Cap

South Korea’s jet fuel exports reached 1.14 million metric tons in May, the highest since August 2025, as domestic refiners sought to maximize these to take advantage of strong crack margins and the absence of export restrictions for aviation fuel, according to data provider Vortexa and market sources.

The prompt month jet fuel crack margin to Dubai for April and May reached $69.67/bbl and $50.79/bbl, respectively, compared to $20.06/bbl in February, according to OPIS data.

Crack margins for all oil products have surged since the start of the Middle East conflict at the end of February, especially for middle distillates, prompting refiners to export as much as they can, a source said.

However, some refiners’ plans have faced restrictions by their respective governments, which may have been concerned about inadequate supply for domestic consumption. Thailand, for example, was the first in Asia to ban exports of oil products after the Iran war broke out, in early March, while China — Northeast Asia’s second-largest jet fuel exporter — implemented a similar ban on March 12.

Just as South Korean refiners were keen to export in May, buyers elsewhere were keen to purchase from the country to replace the loss in Chinese export availability. China’s total jet fuel export volumes in April and May fell to their lowest since November 2021.

South Korea’s May exports to some markets achieved record highs that month. Among the top destinations were Singapore (139,500 mt, the highest since August 2018), the Philippines (113,000 mt, an all-time high according to Vortexa’s records, dating back to January 2016) and France (104,400 mt, a 10-month high).

The U.S. West Coast topped the list at 167,300 mt in May, or 14.7% of South Korea’s total exports, but this was considerably lower than the period before the start of the Middle East conflict. South Korean exports to the USWC market averaged around 272,500 mt/month in 2025, and reached 268,400 mt in February.

A closer look at USWC data shows that most South Korean cargoes were delivered to Hawaii in May, while only 38,500 mt were sent to Los Angeles.

Market players do not view South Korean shipments to Alaska and Hawaii as arbitrage volumes, as there tend to be some volumes shipped to these markets, regardless of the status of the arbitrage window.

South Korea’s exports to other USWC ports reached only 31,400 mt and 38,500 mt in April and May, respectively — the lowest since November 2021, which saw volumes of 38,100 mt for the same trade routes.

The calculated arbitrage window for South Korean exports to the USWC was closed in the first half of April, as prices were calculated as higher in the former market, after accounting for freight costs, according to OPIS data.

Asian market players said that the arbitrage window opened from the second half of April to the first half of May. However, South Korean refiners were unable to take advantage of it as they did not have excess volumes to spare for the USWC, a few sources said previously.

The calculated arbitrage window has fluctuated between slightly open and closed since the second half of May. A shipbroking source said that there has been no shipping fixture for jet fuel exports from South Korea to the USWC since the week of May 25.

—Reporting by Kite Chong, kchong@opisnet.com; Editing by Mei-Hwen Wong, mwong@opisnet.com