SINGAPORE: Asia’s gasoline crack climbed on Thursday, buoyed by a drop in US and Singapore inventories and robust demand as peak summer driving season draws near.

The crack rose to $27.27 a barrel from $25.62 in the previous session. A drop in crude oil benchmarks also supported margins.

US gasoline stocks fell by 3.6 million barrels last week to 225 million barrels, Energy Information Administration data showed on Wednesday. This compares with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.6 million-barrel drop.

Singapore’s onshore inventories of light distillates fell 257,000 barrels to a two-week low of 14.559 million barrels in the week to May 11, Enterprise Singapore data showed.

Meanwhile, Asia’s naphtha crack eased to $121.45 a tonne, from $123.55 in the previous session.

Oil prices dropped more than 2% on Thursday in a volatile week as recession fears dogged global financial markets, outweighing supply concerns and geopolitical tensions in Europe.