Asia Naphtha/Gasoline-Gasoline margins extend gains despite rising stocks

Asia Naphtha/Gasoline-Gasoline margins extend gains despite rising stocks

SINGAPORE- Asia's gasoline crack extended gains on Thursday, moving further away from a two-month low hit at the end of November. The rise in motor fuel margins came despite higher crude oil prices and rising inventories across key storage and trading hubs. The gasoline crack rose to $8.79 a barrel, up from $7.87 a barrel in the previous session. But its outlook was clouded by fears of renewed travel restrictions and rising near-term gasoline output. Climbing oil prices on Thursday erased the previous day's losses, with investors adjusting positions ahead of an OPEC+ decision on supply policy, though gains were capped by fears that the Omicron coronavirus variant could hit fuel demand. Gasoline margins fell last month, giving up the sharp gains recorded in a October rally that sent them to a more than six-year high of $18.72 a barrel on Oct. 27 on the back of tightening supplies and signs of recovering demand. On Nov. 29, the gasoline margin fell to a two-month low of $6.71 a barrel. NAPHTHA Asia's naphtha crack was largely steady on Thursday at $146.18 per tonne, down by 60 cents from the previous session. While the naphtha crack has come under pressure from limited