NEW DELHI: Asia’s gasoline markets weakened further on Tuesday after Middle Eastern and US stocks increased, market sources said.

The refining profit margin for gasoline slipped to $11.95 a barrel, down $1.63 from the last close. The naphtha crack, on the other hand, rose $14.75 to $35.75 a tonne on Tuesday.

In physical markets, Unipec bought 100,000 barrels of the benchmark 92-octane grade gasoline, while Vitol purchased 50,000 barrels of the same grade.

Meanwhile, China’s Hengli Petrochemical Co shut down a 200,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) oil refining unit last week for planned maintenance, a spokesperson for the independent refinery told Reuters.

US gasoline inventories rose by 3 million barrels in the week to July 8, market sources said, against analysts’ estimates of a fall of about 400,000 barrels in a Reuters poll.

Light distillates stocks at Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) rose by 402,000 barrels to highest since June 13 at 6.224 million barrels in the week to Monday, data from S&P Global Commodity Insights showed.

Oil edged up on Wednesday, a day after settling below $100 a barrel for the first time since April, and gains were limited by a US supply report showing rising inventories and caution ahead of US inflation data.