Vietnam's Petrolimex, the country's top importer, is seeking 229,000 tonnes of gasoil, its first quarterly import requirement after skipping its quarterly term contracts for three consecutive quarters.

Its second quarter gasoil requirements are about 28 percent higher than in the same period last year, partly inflated because the company skipped signing a yearly term deal to import gasoil in 2013, a source close to the matter said.

Domestic demand is stable and there has been no spike in demand for the transport and industrial fuel, the source added.

The tender could improve sentiment in the gasoil market, other sources said, after Petrolimex's absence from the term import market drove Asian gasoil profit margins for the first quarter of this year to their worst performing quarter in more than two years.

Source: Reuters