Asia’s gasoline crack extended gains on Wednesday as tight inventories at the key trading hub of United States ahead of driving season continued to underpin prices.

The refining profit margin for gasoline rose to $19.32 a barrel, compared with $19.12 a barrel a day earlier. (GL92-SIN-CRK)

The crack also mirrored the gains in Northwest European gasoline refining margins, which were at their highest since mid-October at around $23 per barrel on Tuesday as French strikes affecting oil refineries continued.

On the demand side, Australia’s gasoline imports are expected to rise 2% to hit a record for a second straight year due to a drop in domestic production and a post-COVID economic recovery boosting fuel demand, traders and analysts said.

INVENTORIES

U.S. gasoline inventories fell by about 5.9 million barrels, market sources said, compared with analysts estimates of a decline by about 1.6 million barrels.

Fujairah inventories of light distillates rose for a second straight week to 7.722 million barrels in the week to March 27, data from S&P Global Commodity Insights showed.

NEWS

– Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft ROSN and India’s top refiner Indian Oil Corp IOC have signed a term agreement to substantially increase oil supplies and diversify oil grades delivered to India, Rosneft said on Wednesday.

– Large inflows of Russian crude oil and refined products have boosted tank storage demand at the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah, pushing storage fees at the transit and blending hub to all-time highs in the first quarter, industry sources said.

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Source: Reuters