NEW DELHI: Asia’s naphtha markets weakened on Thursday after inventories at the key trading hub of Singapore increased and as volatility in crude oil benchmarks pushed prices of the light fuel higher.

The refining profit margin for naphtha plunged to $103.35 per tonne, the lowest since June 2021, from $131.35 on Wednesday.

Singapore onshore inventories of light distillates rose 885,000 barrels to a seven-week high of 14.888 million barrels in the week to March 23, Enterprise Singapore data showed.

US gasoline inventories fell 2.9 million barrels to 238 million barrels, official data showed.

Indian state owned refiner MRPL offered 20,000 tonnes of reformate for delivery in April, tender document showed. The tender closes Thursday. Japan’s Mitsui Chemical issued a spot tender to buy 25,000 tonnes of light naphtha for delivery in second-half April. The tender closed on March 23 and could not be independently verified by Reuters.

Crude prices declined in volatile trading on Thursday as investors assessed the potential for new supply in tight markets amid prospects of a new Iran deal.