NEW DELHI: Asia’s refining margin for gasoline rose on Friday after India introduced export duties on gasoil, gasoline and jet fuel to help maintain domestic supplies, traders said.

The crack rose to $28.75 a barrel, up $1.12 from a day earlier. Gasoline margins posted a weekly loss of nearly 19%, although robust regional demand amid a shortage of blendstock cushioned the fall.

The Indian government also set new rules requiring oil companies exporting gasoline to sell to the domestic market the equivalent of 50% of the amount sold overseas for the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2023.

“They (refiners) have time to balance out till March,” a market source said.

Refiners are likely to maintain status quo and hope prices come down later so they can sell into domestic market, the source added.

In physical markets, Energy trader ENOC snapped up seven cargoes of the higher 95-octane grade of gasoline of total volume 300,000 barrels. Vitol purchased a cargo of the benchmark 92-octane grade.

Meanwhile, the naphtha crack in the region flipped to a premium of $19.13 a tonne, compared with a discount of $32.40 a day earlier, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

The second-half August naphtha price was $11 a tonne higher than the following month, making it the widest backwardated spread since late-March.