Asia’s gasoline refining profit margin jumped to the highest level since July 2022 on Wednesday on hopes of fuel demand recovery in China.

The crack (GL92-SIN-CRK) rose by about $6 to $17.91 a barrel over Brent crude.

Potential rise in consumption during the Lunar New Year holiday could bring down China’s exports of gasoline to below 800,000 tonnes in January, down from record levels touched in December at around 2.1 million tonnes, according to assessments by Refinitiv Oil Research.

At the Singapore trade window, there were no deals for light distillates, market participants said.

INVENTORIES

Naphtha and gasoline stocks at the Fujairah commercial hub declined by 794,000 barrels to 7.089 million barrels in the week to Jan. 23, S&P Global Commodity Insights data showed.

U.S. gasoline stocks registered a smaller-than-expected rise by about 620,000 barrels, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday.

NEWS

– U.S. oil refining margins on Tuesday hit a three-month high and are likely headed higher, analysts said, as unplanned refinery outages weigh on already-tight fuel supplies.

– China’s exports of refined petroleum products, especially diesel, surged in the final two months of 2022, relieving some of the global shortage caused by unusually low exports since the middle of 2021.
Source: Reuters