Asia’s gasoline refining profit margin traded above $11 per barrel on Friday, as firm demand supported market sentiment heading into the summer.

Window demand for the higher 95-octane grade of gasoline remained robust for a fourth straight session, market participants said.

Also supporting the crack was Singapore’s light distillate stocks, which fell by 2.408 million barrels to a six-month low of 13.212 million barrels in the week to April 30, according to data from Enterprise Singapore.

Gasoline stocks independently held in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub fell by over 5% on the week to 1.207 million tons, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed on Thursday.

ARA naphtha stocks increased to 596,000 tons in the same week from 479,000 tons, the data showed.

In naphtha market, the refining profit margin traded steady at about $99 per metric ton over Brent crude.

NEWS

– Oil prices fell on Friday as traders squared positions ahead of an OPEC+ meeting and amid some scepticism about a potential de-escalation of the trade dispute between China and the United States.

– Indian fuel retailer Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd expects a net gain of $20 to $30 a ton on delivery of U.S. liquefied petroleum gas through swap deal with Middle Eastern suppliers, its head of finance said on Friday.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Two gasoline deals.
Source: Reuters