SINGAPORE: Asia’s gasoline and naphtha cracks edged higher on Monday, recovering some of Friday’s losses, as buyers returned believing the sell-off caused by concerns over a new coronavirus variant was overdone.

However, concerns of surplus supply may keep the upside potential limited.

The crack rose to $6.71 a barrel from $6.34 in the last session. Gasoline margins have shed most gains in November after doubling in the last two months.

Similarly, the naphtha crack in the region rose to $149.98 per tonne from $143.33 in the previous session.

This came as crude oil rebounded by almost 5% on Monday to $76 a barrel as some investors viewed Friday’s slump in oil and financial markets over the Omicron variant as exaggerated.

Asian oil refiners’ margins have slumped to the lowest in nearly five months amid worries that Omicron could deal another blow to oil demand recovery, already hit by rising COVID-19 cases in Europe.