NEW DELHI: Asia’s naphtha crack eased on Wednesday, but remained near recent multi-year highs as robust demand supported market sentiment.

S&P Global Platts brought forward a trading window ahead of a market holiday on Thursday.

The crack slipped to $172.50 per tonne from $173.98 in the last session. Naphtha margins have risen nearly 50% in the last two months on the back of firm cracker feedstock demand and increased blending interest due to strength in the gasoline complex.

Meanwhile, the gasoline crack in the region also eased but remained firm above $14 per barrel as Singapore inventories fell to a more than two-year low.

The crack fell to $14.30 a barrel from $15.47 in the last session. Gasoline margins have more than doubled since September as consumption has reached pre-pandemic levels in the region amid tight supplies from China.

Indicating robust demand, Singapore’s stocks of light distillates fell by 1.819 million barrels to a more than two-year low of 10.368 million barrels in the week to Nov. 2, data from Enterprise Singapore showed.

Inventories at Fujairah Oil Industry Zone also declined by 150,000 barrels last week to 4.918 million barrels, according to industry information service S&P Global Platts.

Oil prices fell on Wednesday as industry data pointed to a big build in crude oil and distillate stocks in the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer, and as pressure mounted on OPEC to increase supply.