NEW DELHI: Asia's naphtha crack eased on Thursday but stayed near recent highs as petrochemical feedstock demand from crackers remained strong. The crack slipped to $167.63 a tonne, from $172.95 in the last session. Naphtha refining margins have surged more than 45% since September.
"Demand for high paraffinic naphtha in Asia has remained strong, which has helped sellers of spot naphtha cargo to demand high premiums," Mohammed Yasser, an analyst at Refinitv Oil Research, said in a note. The gasoline crack inched lower after a group of countries and carmakers committed to phasing out fossil-fuel vehicles by 2040 at climate talks. But the downside was capped by a decline in Singapore stocks of light distillates to a two-year low.
The crack eased to $12.09 a barrel, from $12.19 in the last session. Singapore's light distillates stockpiles declined by 515,000 barrels to 9.853 million barrels, Enterprise Singapore data showed.
Saudi Aramco, the world's top exporter of crude oil, has notified at least six Asian customers it will supply full term volumes in December, people with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday. Benchmark northwest European gasoline rose to around $14.1 a barrel on Wednesday after a drop in US inventories last week.
US Gasoline stocks fell last week by 1.6 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. US refinery crude runs rose by 343,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates rose by 0.4 percentage points. A group of countries, companies and cities committed on Wednesday to phasing out fossil-fuel vehicles by 2040, as part of efforts to cut carbon emissions and curb global warming.
Energy trader Gunvor Group expects the oil price to be around current levels this time next year but sees "huge volatility" across commodities longer term as the energy transition progresses, its chief executive told the Reuters Commodities Summit.
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