NEW DELHI: Asia’s gasoline refining profit margin declined on Thursday for a third consecutive session after Singapore and US inventories rose, denting market sentiment.

The crack slipped to $27.63 a barrel, down $1.58 from a day earlier, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

Stocks of light distillates at the key trading hub of Singapore rose by 17,000 barrels to a two-week high of 15.229 million barrels in the week to June 29, official data showed. US gasoline stocks rose by 2.6 million barrels last week, Energy Information Administration data showed, compared with expectations in a Reuters poll for a 452,000-barrel drop.

Meanwhile, the naphtha crack in the region traded at a discount of $32.40 a tonne, compared with a discount of $49.30 a tonne on Wednesday. On Thursday, the first-half August naphtha price was $10.25 a tonne higher than the following month, making it the widest backwardated spread since late March. Oil prices were largely steady in volatile trading on Thursday as the market weighed concerns over global supply against a build in US fuel product inventories.