off-the-wire

Asia Naphtha/Gasoline-Gasoline weakness drags Asian refining margin below $2/bbl

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters
NEW DELHI, April 18 (Reuters) - Asia's gasoline margin further weakened amid thin liquidity on Tuesday, pressured by speculation around fresh quotas from China, traders said, contributing to a decline in overall refining margin for the region to below $2 a barrel. The profit on making gasoline from Brent crude in Asia fell to $11.61 a barrel, compared with $12.03 a barrel a day earlier. The crack is down nearly 33% since the beginning of last week. Chinese oil refinery throughput surged to a record in March, data showed on Tuesday, as refiners stepped up runs to capture strong export demand and build-up inventories ahead of planned maintenance. The country's gasoline exports fell to 0.76 million tonnes from 1.16 million tonnes last year, the data showed. In physical markets, energy trader Vitol bought 50,000 barrels of benchmark grade of gasoline. There were no deals for naphtha. TENDERS India's MRPL offered 30,000 tonnes of reformate for delivery during May 9-May 13 in a tender that closes on Wednesday with same-day validity.


NEWS - A commitment from the Group of Seven wealthy countries to phase out fossil fuels faster has been welcomed as a potential step towards a global deal for all countries to do the same, but is facing criticism for not matching the pledge with firm action. - Oil fell for a second day on Tuesday as upbeat Chinese economic data failed to deflect the focus from a possible increase to U.S. interest rates and wider concern about the growth outlook. PRICES
CASH ($/T) ASIA CLOSE Change % Prev RIC Change Close
OSN Naphtha CFR 676.00 -13.00 -1.89 689.00 <NAF-1H-TY Japan M1 O> OSN Naphtha CFR 669.50 -13.00 -1.90 682.50 <NAF-2H-TY Japan M2 O> OSN Naphtha Diff 6.50 0.00 0.00 6.50 <NAF-TYO-D IF> Naphtha Netback FOB 73.11 -1.45 -1.94 74.56 Sing
Naphtha-Brent Crack 41.57 -2.66 -6.01 44.23 <NAF-SIN-C RK> Gasoline 97 101.78 -1.81 -1.75 103.59 Gasoline 95 100.29 -1.81 -1.77 102.10 Gasoline 92 96.20 -1.80 -1.84 98.00 Gasoline crack 11.61 -0.42 -3.49 12.03 <GL92-SIN- CRK>
For a list of derivatives prices, including margins,
please double click the RICs below.
Brent M1 Naphtha CFR Japan M1 Naphtha CFR Japan M1/M2
Naphtha CFR Japan M2 Naphtha Japan-Sing Netback M1
Naphtha Japan-Sing Netback M2
Naphtha FOB Sing M1 Naphtha FOB Sing M1/M2
Naphtha FOB Sing M2 Naphtha Cracks M1 East-West Naphtha M1 East-West Naphtha M2 NWE Naphtha M1 NWE Naphtha M1/M2 NWE Naphtha M2 Crack NWE Naphtha-Brent M1
Crack NWE Naphtha-Brent M2

*Sing refers to
Singapore



(Reporting by Mohi Narayan; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.