"Overall market fundamentals remain weak but there is an improvement in sentiment on a combination of factors," one trader with a Singapore-based oil company said.

Factors cited included the sharp drop in Singapore weekly middle distillate stocks, refiners cutting runs, a stronger gas oil futures market in the West and lower temperatures in the northern hemisphere.

Singapore's biggest refiner Shell Singapore said on last Friday that it planned to lower crude runs at its 59,000 tonnes-per-day (tpd) refinery to an average of 40,000-tpd in December, or around 68-per cent of capacity, down from 75-per cent in November.

"Magnitude-wise, the cut is not so big but it helps, sentiment-wise," one trader said.

In the Singapore cash jet fuel market, prices rebounded strongly from Thursday's 12-year-low levels.

Two oil majors/refiners bought acargo each of 100,000 barrels and 120,000 barrels respectively at $13.40 and $13.45 per barrel, both for December 19-23 lifting, traders said.

The former deal was done by a US major and the latter by a Wall Street trader.

The market was traded at 12-year-low levels of $12.50. In the gasoil cash market, prices held steady on good buying support and two trades were concluded at $11.50 and $11.60 per barrel, traders said.

The former was sold by a European trader to a US trader and the latter a European trader to a Singapore trader. Both were 150,000 barrels each for December 19-23 lifting, traders said.

"Buying support seems to have returned. Prices have dropped very low and people are now thinking the fall is overdone," one trader with an oil major said.

Traders said that there was also an element of profit taking on the paper market which had led the bulls.

Meanwhile trading activity on the Singapore naphtha and gasoline markets was thin with no clear directions for either market, traderssaid.

They said naphtha supplies from Singapore were nearly fully committed for December and attention was shifting to discussion for January cargoes.But as offers were yet not firm, there was very little market consensus on where premiums would be.

"At this moment, I cannot tell. The supply and demand picture is not clear," one trader with a Japanese trading house said.

The trader said he had heard of a trade for free-on-board (fob) Singapore naphtha cargo this week at around 60 cents per barrel premium to spot prices.

But he could not disclose the parties involved.

Other traders said these levels were too high and assessed the market closer to 20 to 40 cents per barrel premiums.

They said naphtha demand from Japanese and South Korean petrochemical companies was soft as they were lowering output from January.

Ethylene imports from China were expected to slow after the expiry of licenses at the end of this year, traders in Tokyo said.

Sluggish gasoline demand, meanwhile, kept prices depresseddespite refiners' attempts to tighten supply by cutting production from their reformer units, traders said.

"Prices are still unrealistic," one trader said. "At these prices, you should see many refiners shut down their reformers and come out to buy."But there were no further bids in the Singapore cash market on last Friday, following a deal done for a 97-octane unleaded 50,000 barrels cargo at $13.45.

Trading in naphtha and gasoline markets was thin with no clear directions for either market, traders said.

They said naphtha supplies from Singapore were nearly fully committed for December and attention was shifting to discussion for January cargoes.But as offers were yet not firm, there was very little market consensus on where premiums would be.

"At this moment, I cannot tell. The supply and demand picture is not clear," one trader with a Japanese trading house said.

The trader said he had heard of a trade for free-on-board (fob) Singapore naphtha cargo this week at around 60 cents per barrelpremium to spot prices.