NEW DELHI: Asia’s gasoline crack eased slightly on Wednesday after Middle Eastern and US inventories increased, denting demand sentiment. The refining profit margin fell to $10.47 a barrel, down 25 cents from the last close. The downside remained limited as market players weighed the impact of Omicron variant of COVID-19 on fuel demand amid high vaccination rates in the region.

Gasoline inventories in the US increased by 10.9 million barrels for the week ended Jan. 7, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday.

Stocks of light distillates at Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, including gasoline and naphtha, rose 134,000 barrels, or 2.8%, on the week to 4.885 million barrels.

In a bullish signal to markets, gasoline consumption in India, a key motor-fuel market, rose 6.4% from November to 2.82 million tonnes, a record-high as per data going back to 1998, and were 13.9% higher than December 2019, government data showed. Meanwhile, the naphtha crack inched higher to $137.93 per tonne from $137.68 on Tuesday, although the upside was capped due to dwindling demand from petrochemical units.