Asia's naphtha crack eased 2.5% to a three-week low of $76.80 a tonne on muted demand, but gasoline profit-margin slumped 37% to a 7-month low at $2.94 a barrel as traders were concerned about demand being hit by a deadly new coronavirus.
The coronavirus outbreak, which originated in China's central city of Wuhan in December, has hit several other countries and caused concerns about the impact the virus may have on the world's second-biggest economy. It was unclear if China would be shipping more gasoline out of the country as demand has likely fallen. Gasoline exports from China have hit a new record high in 2019 for the seventh straight year with shipment of over 16 million tonnes, up 27% from 2018, official data showed.
China, however, is net short of naphtha, like most other Asian countries. Adding to the bearish gasoline fundamentals were high supplies in the United States, where its inventories were at an all-time high in the week to January 17. Arrivals of European gasoline and gasoline components to the US have remained low at about 434,200 tonnes so far in January, Refinitiv Eikon data showed, versus European exports at about 990,900 tonnes in December. JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy Corp is to restore full throughput at its naphtha crackers next month after output was reduced to combat weak margins, an industry source said.
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