Asian oil-product tanker rates may extend declines on speculation shipments will drop in November. The cost of transporting 55,000 metric tons of fuel to Japan from the Middle East fell 2.3 percent to Worldscale 158.19 yesterday, bringing this year's drop to 26 percent, according to the London-based Baltic Exchange. Oil inventories in Japan, the world's third-largest oil consumer, rose to 15.2 million kiloliters (129.5 million barrels) last week from 15 million kiloliters a week earlier, the Petroleum Association of Japan said today. South Korea, Asia's biggest gasoil seller, may keep November exports of the fuel little changed as refiners delay plans to switch to kerosene production because of warm weather, company officials said. There are ''way too many ships competing for cargoes in the Asian market,'' DnB NOR Markets analysts Henrik With and Glenn Lodden said in an Oct. 23 report. ''The Western markets look to be in better shape, although rates are likely to remain poor from a seasonal perspective.''

SK Energy Co., GS Caltex Corp., S-Oil Corp. and Hyundai Oilbank Co. will sell between 7.6 million and 8.1 million barrels of gasoil, in line with October's plan, said officials who declined to be identified because of company rules. The refiners typically cut gasoil output and raise production of kerosene, a heating fuel, before the Northern Hemisphere winter. ''In clean trades, Asian rates were slightly weaker and brokers report slack enquiry and a lack of impetus to the market,'' Simpson Spence & Young Ltd.'s consultancy & research arm said in its Oct. 22 report. Two oil-product tankers with a total capacity of 159,503 deadweight tons are scheduled to arrive in Singapore next week, compared with this week's six with a combined capacity of 386,835 deadweight tons, according to Bloomberg data. The rates above are in Worldscale points, which are a percentage of a nominal, or flat rate, for a specific route. Flat rates, quoted in U.S. dollars a ton, are revised yearly by the Worldscale Association in London

to reflect changing fuel costs, port tariffs and exchange rates.