Asia’s gasoline margins dipped on Monday, after gaining for four consecutive sessions.

Sietco was the most active buyer at the closing window, purchasing 250,000 barrels of the benchmark grade of octane out of the total of 350,000 barrels of 92-octane gasoline that were traded.

The crack dipped to $9.05 per barrel over Brent crude, from $10.01 on Friday.

In naphtha, the margins continued its dip shedding $5.58 to $90.63 per metric ton over Brent crude.

The backwardation between first-half February and first-half March narrowed to $5.50.

An LSEG report said it expects naphtha market fundamentals to firm up slightly amid expectations of rising demand from new Chinese cracking capacity due to come online early next year and a firmer gasoline complex in recent weeks.

NEWS

Oil futures dropped from their highest levels in weeks on Monday, pressured by weaker than expected consumer spending in China, the world’s largest oil importer.

China’s refinery throughput in November recorded its first rise in eight months, official data showed on Monday, as Beijing’s economic stimulus measures began to underpin manufacturing activity and oil demand.

The price of Iranian crude oil sold to China has risen to the highest in years as fresh U.S. sanctions have tightened shipping capacity and driven up logistics costs, trade sources and analysts said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Haridas; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)