SINGAPORE: Asian refining margins for gasoline rose on Tuesday, buoyed by expectations of a demand recovery in western markets. However, reimposed lockdown measures and renewed mobility restrictions in key markets, including India and Indonesia, will weigh on near-term transportation fuel demand in Asia, market watchers said.
Refining margins, also known as cracks, for gasoline rose to $5.49 per barrel on Tuesday, compared with $4.71 per barrel a day earlier. The gasoline crack, however, is nearly 13% lower compared with its five-year seasonal average for this time of the year.
Asia’s naphtha crack rose to $93.93 per tonne on Tuesday, compared with $90.32 a tonne on Monday. India’s clean products exports have jumped to 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of May, 65% higher compared with the same period last month, according to data analytics firm Vortexa.
Gasoline and diesel exports from the country have registered the largest month-on-month increase of 85% and 65% respectively during this period as demand slowed due to a fresh wave of the pandemic, Vortexa said in a weekly report.
CHINA APRIL FUEL EXPORTS
China’s gasoline exports in April plunged 22.8% from a year earlier to 1.47 million tonnes, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Tuesday.
Diesel shipments from China reached 2.72 million tonnes last month, down from 2.81 million tonnes in March.
For May, China’s gasoline exports are expected to fall to 1.29 million tonnes, while diesel exports will decline to 1.89 million tonnes, according to energy consultants Jinlianchuang.
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