Asia’s naphtha refining margin gave up the previous session’s gains on Tuesday as rising inventories of some downstream products weighed on demand.

The crack fell by about $2 to $73.93 a metric ton over Brent crude in a steady backwardation of $10.75 a ton.

In deals, a northeast Chinese buyer snapped up 23,000 tons of propane, a rival feedstock of naphtha, for August, market participants said.

Meanwhile, a Taiwanese seller was heard offering at least 500,000 barrels of 93-octane gasoline for delivery in August, they said. The gasoline market gained steam on Tuesday on the back of healthy demand in the region.

NEWS

– British energy giant BP said on Tuesday that weak refining margins and oil trading were likely to dent its second-quarter profit, sending its shares down 3% in morning trading.

– Oil prices slipped on Tuesday after a hurricane that hit a key U.S. oil-producing hub in Texas caused less damage than markets had expected, easing concerns over supply disruption.

– Oil and gas companies in Texas were restarting operations on Tuesday after Hurricane Beryl lashed the state with 80-mph winds, damaging property and leaving millions of people without power.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Mohi Narayan)