Asia’s naphtha refining profit margin rose on Wednesday after crude oil benchmarks weakened by about $1, but the upside was capped due to a rise in Middle East inventories.

The crack NAF-SIN-CRK jumped by about $6 to $11.68 per metric ton over Brent crude and the first-half November naphtha price plummeted by $8.50 to $711.50 a ton.

Traders said demand sentiment is likely to remain under pressure due to lower operating rates and unplanned outages at some of the crackers in the region.

Meanwhile, the gasoline crack GL92-SIN-CRK was steady above $13 a barrel over Brent crude and the benchmark grade of gasoline traded over $106 per barrel on Wednesday.

INVENTORIES

Light distillate stocks at the Fujairah commercial hub rose by 357,000 barrels to 6.183 million barrels in the week to Sept. 18, S&P Global Commodity Insights data showed.

U.S. gasoline stocks rose by about 730,000 barrels in the week ended Sept. 15, industry sources said, bigger than analysts’ hopes of a fall by about 300,000 barrels.

TENDERS

Indian Oil withdrew a naphtha tender which had closed on Monday, market sources said. The company had floated the tender to buy 30,000 tons of naphtha for October delivery at Kandla port.

NEWS

– Growing oil demand and extended supply cuts have pushed the market into a deficit and will allow OPEC to sustain Brent crude prices in a range between $80 and $105 per barrel next year, Goldman Sachs said in a note on Wednesday.
– Oil prices fell by more than $1 on Wednesday ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision, with investors uncertain when peak rates will be hit and how much of an impact it will have on energy demand.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS O/AS

No trades.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Mohi Narayan; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)