Seoul/Beijing — On top of stricter emission controls and a move towards electric vehicles, Asia’s diesel traders now have to worry about sea cucumbers off China’s coast. A Chinese move to protect endangered marine creatures with a fishing ban contributed to a drop in the so-called crack spread in Asia for diesel, a measure of returns from producing the fuel, to a nine month low. That is because thousands of the country’s fishing trawlers idled between May and September will bot require the fuel at a time when supplies are usually ample as refineries return from maintenance work. This is not the first time the traders have been rattled by policy changes in China, the world’s biggest energy consumer. The country raised its fuel standards for vehicles in January, leading its refiners to boost premium diesel production, in turn reducing the price spread between cleaner and dirtier grades in Asia. The fishing ban, slower economic growth, and a move away from heavy industries in the natio...
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