NEW DELHI: Asia’s gasoline crack jumped for a third straight session after US inventories dropped in a bullish signal to markets.

The crack climbed to $12.19 a barrel, the highest since Aug. 4, from $9.86 a barrel a day earlier. Gasoline margins weakened by nearly 18% last week amid weak fuel demand globally.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its monthly report that in the third quarter of 2022, refined product balances are forecast to register the first quarterly build in two years.

“Weakness in the world’s largest gasoline market (the United States) spread across the rest of the world,” the Paris-based agency said.

Asia’s naphtha crack traded at a discount of $14.83 a tonne, the lowest since Aug 1, amid weak demand.

IEA said naphtha use was set to drop by 70,000 barrels per day in 2022 due to “uneven Chinese polymer demand, weak margins and petrochemical plant issues handicapping the region’s producers”.

US gasoline stocks fell by 5 million barrels in the week, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 633,000-barrel drop?

Singapore onshore inventories of light distillates rose by 250,000 barrels to a two-week high of 17.667 million barrels in the week to Aug 10, official data showed.