Asia’s gasoline refining profit margin was steady near a one-year high on Monday, buoyed by speculations around Chinese supplies and low inventories.
The crack traded at $19.34 a barrel over Brent crude.
At the deals window, energy trader PTT bought 50,000 barrels of 92-octane grade of the fuel, while South Korean SK Energy bought a cargo of naphtha for second-half October loading, market participants said.
There have been only two naphtha deals at the window so far this month, but Japanese and South Korean buyers like Mitsui Chemicals, LG Chem, Hanwha TotalEnergies and GS Caltex emerged last week for spot purchases of September and October cargoes, they said.
The naphtha crack was also steady on Monday at about $34 per metric ton over Brent crude and the backwardation in the markets stood at $7 per ton. The first-half October naphtha price rose by $1.50 to $670 per ton.
NEWS
– China’s Sinopec Corp is not interested in acquiring Shell’s refinery or petrochemical plant in Singapore, Sinopec President Yu Baocai said on Monday.
– Oil ticked higher on Monday after China took steps to bolster its flagging economy, though investors remained worried about the pace of growth as well as further U.S. interest rate hikes that could dampen demand.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Mohi Narayan; Editing by Sohini Goswami)