Asia’s gasoline markets gained on Thursday on bullish fuel consumption data from India and large declines in inventories at major trading hubs.
The crack jumped to $15.71 per barrel over Brent crude, the highest since Jan. 30, compared with $14.52 a barrel a day earlier.
India’s sales of gasoline in January rose 9.6% from the previous year to 3.10 million tons. Indian carmakers reported record sales in January as they looked to build up inventory of new and refreshed models in 2024, wholesale data from the companies showed on Thursday.
Also adding support to the crack, Japan’s Cosmo Oil, a unit of Cosmo Energy Holdings Co, shut down the 75,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) No.1 crude distillation unit (CDU) at its Chiba refinery near Tokyo on Feb. 7 due to system trouble, a company spokesperson said.
Another Japanese refiner, Idemitsu Kosan Co, has shut its crude distillation unit (CDU) and some derivative units at its Aichi refinery for repairs following a technical issue, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.
The 160,000-barrel per day CDU and other units that produce middle distillates and gasoline were shut in the past two days, two of the sources said, without specifying the exact date.
INVENTORIES
Singapore light distillate inventories fell to a three-week low of 12.965 million barrels in the week to Feb. 7, Enterprise Singapore data showed.
U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI fell by 3.1 million barrels in the week to 251 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 140,000-barrel build.
NEWS
– Germany’s Economy Ministry informed Rosneft earlier this week it was considering expropriating shares in the company’s German assets, the Russian oil giant’s law firm in Germany said on Thursday, adding it would take all measures to protect shareholders’ rights.
– Oil extended gains on Thursday after Israel rejected a ceasefire offer from Hamas, while a weaker dollar also supported prices.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS O/AS
Two naphtha trades, one gasoline deal.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Mohi Narayan; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)