Asia's gasoline crack was at a four-session high on Wednesday at $2.99 a barrel after falling to a 27-month low on Monday but the current margin still reflected a market awash with supplies as it was 68.4 percent lower than a year ago. Gasoline stocks in Japan rose 300,000 barrels to a 6-week high of 10.37 million barrels in the week to Oct. 27, official data showed.
Light distillates stocks held in Fujairah were also up and hit a record high of 9.2 million barrels in the week to Monday, data from Fujairah Oil Industry Zone published through S&P Global Platts showed. The Asian naphtha market was similarly hit by excess supplies. Demand has failed to turn the bearish market around.
South Korea's SK Energy and Japan's Idemitsu were seeking naphtha, in a week when GS Caltex and Hanwha Total locked in cargoes for December at discounts. Malaysia-based Titan was in talks to buy naphtha on a 12-month contract starting in February 2019. The Philippines' JG Summit was also seeking naphtha for 2019 delivery, an industry source said. Saudi Aramco has set its November propane contract price at $540 at tonne and butane at $525, down $115 and $130 respectively from the previous month. These were also the lowest monthly contract prices since May. LPG is also a feedstock for petrochemical production apart from being used for heating, cooking and transportation, among other uses.