Asia’s gasoline margins rose for a second consecutive session on Tuesday as supply is expected to tighten due to ongoing refinery maintenance in the region, traders said.

Refiners’ margin for the motor fuel could also be supported in the short run by refiners potentially trimming output due to weak overall margins, a trader said.

The gasoline crack rose to $4.45 per barrel above Brent crude from $4.14 on Monday.

Saudi Aramco was the main seller on the window, having sold 75% of the 200,000 barrels of 92-octane gasoline that traded. Unipec snapped up half of the traded volume.

In naphtha market, the crack dropped $4.83 to $107.63 per metric ton over Brent crude.

Supplies from the Middle East helped to counter the drop in Asian supplies with Saudi Arabiaand United Arab Emirates being the top two exporters to the region, stabilising the market, traders said.

NEWS

Oil prices were steady on Tuesday, after rising more than $1 in the previous session, as traders assessed concerns over U.S. production in the aftermath of Hurricane Francine and also the prospect of lower U.S. crude stockpiles. Brent crude futures LCOc1 for November held their ground at $72.77 a barrel. U.S. crude futures CLc1 for October inched 12 cents higher to $70.21 a barrel.

Several oil companies including Exxon Mobil XOM.N and Chevron CVX.N defeated an appeal on Monday by consumers who accused them of colluding with former U.S. President Donald Trump, Russia and Saudi Arabia to cut oil production, boosting prices at the pump.

Russia’s primary oil refining capacity is expected to rise in the second half of September as refineries are wrapping up their maintenance. Russia’s average offline oil refining capacity is expected at 119,600 metric tons per day between Sept. 16 and 30, down from 145,600 tons per day in the first half of the month.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Haridas; Editing by Shreya Biswas)