NEW DELHI: Asia’s gasoline crack dropped on Monday after a potential release of Japanese oil reserves raised concerns about oversupply amid easing tightness in the market.

The gasoline margin fell to $7.99 a barrel, the lowest since Oct. 1, from $9.83 on Friday.

Gasoline export volumes are gradually on the rise. Incremental supply is likely to come from China following the issue of a third batch of refined fuel export quotas, and as a month-long festival demand from India ended earlier this month, Refinitiv Oil Research said in a weekly report.

Meanwhile, the naphtha crack in the region also softened to $149.78 per tonne, a near one-month low, from $154.65 in the last session as a decline in crude oil benchmarks weighed on prices.

Japanese officials are working on ways to get around restrictions on releasing national reserves of crude oil in tandem with other major economies to dampen prices, four government sources with knowledge of the plans told Reuters.

Oil prices rose on Monday but remained under pressure from rising COVID-19 cases in Europe and a potential release of Japanese oil reserves, raising concerns about both oversupply and weak demand.