NEW DELHI: Asia’s naphtha crack plunged on Monday after a 3% slump in crude oil benchmarks dragged prices lower.

The refining profit margin fell to $155.58 a tonne, down $5.12 from the last close.

The upside to naphtha demand could be capped by persistently weak downstream margins, which has led to a small drop in run rates at some local crackers, Refinitiv Oil Research wrote in a report.

The gasoline crack, on the other hand, traded steadily above $11 a barrel as market players weighed the impact of a surge in Omicron cases in Europe and the United States on fuel demand.

Asia’s gasoil refining profits are on track to jump around 30% this year and expected to climb further in 2022, as the regional market shrugs off the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic with India and China driving demand.

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