Asia gasoline cracks claw back lost gains on falling crude, US draw

London, (Quantum Commodity Intelligence) - Refining margins for 92 RON gasoline in Singapore rose for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday as the prospect of an influx of Iranian heavy sour crude weighed down feedstock costs, while nearby demand for gasoline rose amid a bigger draw than expected in US inventories and easing Indian covid infections.

Front month cracks versus second-line cash Brent rose to $6.34/b, up $0.46/b on the day and meaning cracks have now erased all of Friday's losses, when fears of a wave of national lockdowns hit demand.

US gasoline stocks fell by 2 million barrels over the week to May 14 versus expectations of a 900,000-barrel draw, while stocks in Singapore rose by just 180,000 barrels to a four-week high of 12.56 million barrels.

The June-July backwardation now stands at $0.48/b versus $0.31/b at the start of the week, indicating rising nearby demand for the road fuel.

The rebound in gasoline cracks comes as all other major product cracks rose on Thursday as the fall in crude outweighed the fall in products.

Crude has fallen by more than 4% in a day amid expectations that Iranian crude exports will increase amid easing political tensions.

At the same time, Indian Covid-19 infections are now at a 1-month low.