NEW DELHI: Asia’s gasoline refining profit margin rose on Tuesday as demand remained strong in the region and several oil ports in India closed operations due to a cyclone.

The crack rose to $15.23 a barrel over Brent crude, compared with $14.97 a barrel a day earlier, but the Asian margin remained a tad lower than the Northwest European margin, which traded at $24.50 a barrel on Monday.

Reliance Industries which operates the world’s largest refining complex, suspended exports of oil products from India’s Sikka port on Monday.

Meanwhile, the naphtha crack dropped again to minus $9.27 a metric ton over Brent crude amid poor petrochemical demand.

Valeura Energy Inc VLE.TO said on Tuesday that oil production from its fields in Thailand increased 16% in June after it completed drilling at the Nong Yao field.

Pakistan paid for its first government-to-government import of discounted Russian crude oil in Chinese currency, the South Asian country’s petroleum minister said on Monday, a significant shift in its U.S. dollar-dominated export payments Policy.