Asia's naphtha crack edged down 45 cents to a two-session low of $60.50 a tonne on Thursday but gasoline crack rebounded from a four-session low to reach $9.30 a barrel, the highest since June 13. Falling stocks and expectations of a strong summer driving season in the US gave the Asian gasoline market support.
Singapore's onshore light distillates stocks, which comprise mostly gasoline and blending components for the fuel, dropped 8.26 percent or 943,000 barrels to more than an eight-month low of 10.47 million barrels in the week to June 21, official data showed. US gasoline stocks fell last week 578,000 barrels, compared with analysts' expectations for a 443,000-barrel gain, the Energy Information Administration said.
Gasoline demand in the US is expected to be firm, with the American Automobile Association (AAA) projecting that a record 37.5 million people will drive 50 miles (80 km) or more from home during the holiday period that stretches from June 30 to July 4. That would break last year's record of 36.5 million, and mark a fourth consecutive year of increased motor travel for the Independence Day holiday, AAA said.
Indian Oil Corp (IOC) sold up to 15,000 tonnes of naphtha for July 10-12 loading from Haldia to western trader Glencore but the price was not known, traders said. They added that Reliance Industries has sold 55,000 tonnes of naphtha for July 22-24 loading from Sikka to an Asian trading house at premiums close to $9 a tonne to Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis. Reliance has previously fetched an average of close to $9.60 a tonne premium for three 55,000-tonne cargoes lifting from Sikka in June.
Separately, Malaysia-based Hengyuan sealed its first deal to sell up to 48,000 tonnes of light naphtha to oil major after acquiring a stake in Shell Refining Company. The fuel, most likely to be used as a gasoline blendstock, was sold at a discount of about $15 a tonne to Japan quotes on a FOB basis.
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