SINGAPORE: Asia’s gasoline crack hit a record high for the fifth straight session on Thursday, supported by a drop in US inventories and higher consumption in Indonesia and Malaysia even as Ramadan festivities came to an end.

The crack rose to $27.77 a barrel from $26.57 in the previous session, despite a rise in stocks at the key trading hub of Singapore.

US gasoline stocks fell last week by 2.2 million barrels in the week to 228.6 million barrels, EIA data showed, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 589,000-barrel drop.

Singapore’s onshore inventories of light distillates rose by 1.550 million barrels to a six-week high of 14.816 million barrels in the week to May 4, Enterprise Singapore data showed.

Meanwhile, Asia’s naphtha crack tumbled to its lowest since December 2020, down $17.50 to $65.53 a tonne.

OPEC+ will likely stick to modest oil output increases on Thursday, arguing it is not responsible for geopolitics and supply disruptions while stressing its worries over the demand outlook due to new COVID lockdowns in China.