Asia’s naphtha refining profit margin jumped on Thursday hitting the highest since May 2022 amid spot purchase interest from South Korean buyers.
The crack rose by $19.32 to $85.20 a tonne over Brent crude, while the backwardation in the market widened by $3 to $10.25 per tonne.
South Korean buyers Lotte Chem and YNCC were active in the market for March delivery cargoes, sources said. GS Caltex sought March supplies via a tender.
There were no trades for naphtha at the Singapore window, while energy trade Unipec sold 150,000 barrels of motor fuel, market participants said.
The gasoline crack, on the other hand, declined by 54 cents to $12.46 a barrel amid rising inventories at key trading hubs.
INVENTORIES
Singapore’s light distillate inventories climbed 1.282 million barrels to more than five-month high of 17.156 million barrels in the week to Feb. 1, Enterprise Singapore data showed.
U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 2.6 million barrels in the week to 234.6 million barrels, governemnt data showed, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a rise of 1.4 million barrels.
NEWS
Gasoline consumption and imports in Indonesia, Asia’s largest importer of the motor fuel, could hit records this year as the nation recovers from COVID-related travel curbs, although growth is expected to slow slightly along with its economy.
South Korean refiner Hyundai Oilbank plans to shut down one of its two crude distillation units (CDU) and one residue fluidiser catalytic cracker (RFCC) in August.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS
Three gasoline deals, no naphtha trades.
Source: Reuters