Asia’s naphtha margins strengthened due to a rebound in demand from regional crackers restarting operations after their turnarounds.

The crack rose by $3.90 to reach a three-week high of $117.68 per metric ton over Brent crude, its highest since Oct. 7.

The backwardation between the first-half December and the first-half January strengthened to $6.50, indicating a stronger overall market.

In gasoline, the crack dipped to $4.49 per barrel over Brent crude from $4.57 on Monday, as regional traders shared concerns that they expect margins to remain low nearing the last leg of 2024, with a fall in demand outstripping regional supply.

NEWS

Oil prices inched up on Tuesday after tumbling 6% in the previous session, as a U.S. plan to buy oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) provided some support though wider concerns about weaker future demand growth.

BP on Tuesday reported a 30% drop in third quarter profit to $2.3 billion, the lowest in almost four years, weighed down by weaker refining margins and oil trading results.

China’s power demand will grow faster than expected this year with electricity consumption growing by 7% to 9.9 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh), an industry association said in its latest quarterly report.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Two gasoline deals and one naphtha trade.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Haridas; Editing by Eileen Soreng)