Asia's gasoline hits two-month high; naphtha down

Asia's gasoline crack extended gains to hit a two-month high of $8.54 a barrel on Friday, as supplies contract on the back of hefty run cuts in China and moderate reduction in gasoline-making units elsewhere in Asia. China's February gasoline shipments, including cargoes being shipped out and cargoes placed on provisional bookings, are assessed at up to 450,000 tonnes so far, according Refinitiv data.

Sinopec, teapot refineries and CNOOC will cut runs to combat falling home demand due to travel restrictions as the country attempts to contain the fast-spreading deadly coronavirus. This came at a time when Taiwan and South Korea have trimmed output at secondary units such as fluid catalytic crackers (FCCs)/residue fluid catalytic crackers (RFCCs) that produce gasoline.

Analyst Sandy Kwa of FGE told Reuters that the average cut in a FCC unit would be around 5%-10%, as these units have a minimum base load requirement. "Such a swing can potentially reduce gasoline supply by 100,000 bpd to 130,000 bpd in Asia," she said.

Gasoline stocks held independently at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub rose 104,000 tonnes in the week to Thursday to reach a five-week high of 1.1 million tonnes, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed. However, the current level is 16% lower than a year ago.