Asia’s gasoline margins recovered on Monday after slumping last week as 300,000 barrels of the benchmark octane grade exchanged hands on the window.
The crack was at $5.01 per barrel over Brent crude, up from $3.73 on Friday.
In tenders, MRPL offered 35,000 metric tons of reformate for Sept. 19-20 loading, the company said on its website. The tender closes on Sept. 2.
Pakistan’s PSO is seeking 92-octane gasoline on a cost and freight basis for delivery from Oct.13-20, the company said in a document. The tender closes on Sept. 9.
In the naphtha market, margins rose by $5.09 to $87.57 per metric ton over Brent crude. This is amid broadly steady inbound supplies to Asia and aslight uptick in downstream olefins margins, but the upside remained capped by a few ongoing outages at ethylene crackers across the region, according to an LSEG Oil Research report.
The backwardation between second-half October and second-half November widened to $6 a ton, indicating tightening supply.
LSEG data showed Eastbound arbitrage flows closed some 6% lower on-month to 1.6-1.7 million metric tons in August versus the previous month’s high of nearly 1.8 million tons.The drop was underpinned by a steep fall in Russian arrivals, LSEG said.
LSEG expects naphtha demand to remain under pressure owing to looming cracker maintenance in Asia planned this month. The turnaround periods are expected to last around 50-65 days, suggesting an estimated 450,000-500,000 mt/month of combined naphtha demand could be wiped out, it added.
NEWS
Oil prices extended losses on Monday on expectations of higher OPEC+ production from October, while signs of sluggish demand in China and the United States raised concerns about future consumption growth. Brent crude futures were down 21 cents, at $76.72 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 slipped 14 cents to $73.41.
Chinese state-backed oil and chemicals company Sinochem is planning to sell its 40% stake in a U.S. shale joint venture with oil major Exxon Mobil, valued upwards of $2 billion, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS
Six gasoline trades and no naphtha trade.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Haridas; Editing by Sonia Cheema)