Asia’s naphtha refining profit margin plunged by more than $10 on Tuesday amid bearish economic data from China.

The crack (NAF-SIN-CRK) slipped to $63.38 a tonne, compared with $73.70 a tonne a day earlier. On Tuesday, the first-half March naphtha traded $7.25 per tonne higher than the following month.

China’s economic growth in 2022 slumped to one of its worst levels in nearly half a century, igniting fears around recovery in petrochemical demand.

In physical markets, there were no naphtha trades for a fifth straight session, while energy trader Unipec snapped up 50,000 barrels of the higher 95-octane grade of motor fuel.

The gasoline crack (GL92-SIN-CRK) rose by 20 cents to $11.95 a barrel on Tuesday.

NEWS

– China’s oil refinery throughput in 2022 fell 3.4% from a year earlier, its first annual decline since 2001, as China’s rigid COVID-19 controls took a toll on the economy and fuel consumption.

– Latvia has imported its first cargo of diesel from China in a sign of the rapid redrawing of global oil routes as the European Union prepares to stop fuel imports from neighbouring Russia.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

One gasoline deal, no naphtha trades.
Source: Reuters