SINGAPORE - Spot demand from Vietnam lent support to gasoil differentials despite ample supply of the fuel, trade sources said.

Vietnam's top fuel importer Petrolimex bought three cargoes of 35,000 tonnes each of 500ppm sulphur gasoil for loading from Singapore, Malaysia or Thailand at a premium of about 55 to 60 cents a barrel to Singapore quotes, traders said.

Vietnam's PV Oil followed with a tender requirement for March and April seeking a total of 80,000 cubic metres of gasoil, they added.

Sri Lanka's Ceylon Petroleum Corp is seeking 200,000 barrels of jet fuel for delivery in February, traders said.

Refinery maintenance in Asia, which is expected to be heavier than in previous years, will likely further boost gasoil and jet fuel differentials, traders said.

Japanese oil refiner Cosmo Oil Co said on Friday it planned to shut two crude distillation units (CDU) this year for scheduled maintenance.

The two CDUs at Chiba and Sakai refineries are likely to be shut for about 1-1/2-months each, a company spokesman said.

Arbitrage economics to ship diesel to Europe also remain unviable with oil product inventory in Europe remaining high, traders said.

The region's stocks of crude oil and all oil products apart from fuel oil edged higher despite the lower run rates, reaching a total of 1.150 billion barrels in January, data from industry monitor Euroilstock showed.