Asia’s gaosoline margins inched higher on a dull Friday, which witnessed just 50,000 barrels of the benchmark grade of octane exchanging hands.

The crack climbed higher to a two-week high of $6.76 per barrel above Brent crude from $6.73 on Thursday.

In the naphtha market, the crack dropped by $6.78 to more than a week’s low of $97.70 per metric ton over Brent crude. The crack last hit $97.60 Sept. 11.

The market closed without any deals being concluded for the week.

NEWS

Oil prices eased on Friday, but were on track to register gains for a second straight week following a large cut in U.S. interest rates and declining global stockpiles. Brent futures LCOc1 were down 35 cents at $74.53 a barrel. U.S. WTI crude futures CLc1 were down 25 cents at $71.70. Still, both were up more than 4% on the week. O/R

INVENTORIES ARA/

Gasoline stocks at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp refining and storage hub rose by about 7.7% on the week ending Sept. 19 to 989,000 tons as exports and blending activity slowed, Insights Global’s Lars van Wageningen said.

Naphtha stocks rose to 509,000 tons from prior week’s 469,000 ton, the data showed.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS O/AS

One gasoline deal and no naphtha trade.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Haridas; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)