Asia's gasoline turns positive first time

Asia's gasoline crack turned positive for the first time in nearly two months on Tuesday, hitting a 4 cents premium to Brent oil compared to discount of 39 cents, as demand is seen gradually recovering with lockdowns easing in parts of the world.

Britain's fuel demand, for instance, has improved recently, although still weak compared to pre-virus days.

According to the chairman of the Petroleum Retailers Association, Britain's fuel demand was down 40-45% year-on-year in the past couple of weeks, compared with a 65-70% decline earlier in the country's lockdown.

A recovery in India's fuel demand has also gathered momentum in the first half of May versus April.

Gasoline inventories in the United States were in the meantime expected to have fallen by 2.1 million barrels last week, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday.

Asia's naphtha crack remained in choppy waters, falling to a two-session low of $26.68 a tonne.

The crack has been on a roller-coastal ride since Thursday, when the value plunged 113% into the negative zone followed by a 1,000% spike the next day, as the market appeared divided on fundamentals.