SINGAPORE: Asia’s naphtha crack extended gains on Thursday, climbing to $104.30 a tonne, while gasoline margins snapped four straight sessions of declines to reach a four-session high of $4.89 a barrel above Brent crude.

Sentiment in the Asian gasoline market, however, was somewhat checked by signs that the coronavirus pandemic reduced petrol demand in countries such as India, Malaysia and Vietnam.

The rise came as oil prices held firm on Thursday after strong gains in the previous two sessions on expectations of surging fuel demand later this year while major producers maintain supply discipline.

Meanwhile, light distillate inventories in the Singapore hub climbed to a seven-week high in the week to June 2, latest official data showed.

Singapore’s light distillate inventories rose 9% to 13.9 million barrels in the week to June 2, according to Enterprise Singapore data.

The inventories gained despite moderate net imports of naphtha reformates and motor fuels, the data showed.

Singapore was a net importer of 90-97 RON gasoline at slightly above 2,000 tonnes in the week to June 2, compared to net exports of 113,000 tonnes in the week before.

Net exports of above 97 RON gasoline were nearly 19,000 tonnes in the week to June 2, compared to net exports of about 30,000 tonnes in the previous week.

Singapore’s net imports of naphtha reformates dropped to 44,000 tonnes in the week to June 2, down from 266,000 tonnes in the previous week.

Weekly Singapore light distillate inventories have averaged 14.37 million barrels this year, compared with an average of 14.2 million barrels in 2020.

India’s government will bring forward to 2023 from 2025 the possibility of fuel companies selling gasoline containing up to 20% of ethanol (E20), according to brokers and a publication in the country’s official gazette on Wednesday.

UK demand for road fuel - mainly petrol and diesel - has returned to pre-pandemic levels, official data released on Thursday showed, after the country eased coronavirus-related restrictions following a successful vaccination programme.