NEW DELHI: Asia’s naphtha crack snapped a two-day winning streak on Friday in thin trade, and posted a weekly loss of more than 6% after European inventories jumped by 12%.
The crack plunged to $150.63 a tonne from $156.05 in the last session. Singapore markets were closed early on Friday ahead of the Christmas holiday.
Naphtha stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage area rose to 207,000 tonnes in the week to Dec. 23 from 185,000 tonnes last week.
Meanwhile, the gasoline crack inched higher but the upside remained limited in light trading as market players remained cautious amid a surge in Omicron cases across the globe.
The refining profit margin rose to $12.53 a barrel, up 29 cents from the last close. Gasoline margins posted a weekly gain of more than 5% over some positive developments around the COVID-19 vaccine. “The market appears to be looking past the potential threats caused by the Omicron coronavirus variant after recent studies suggested that the strain might be more containable than initially feared,” Refinitiv Oil Research said in a note.
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