Asia Gasoline Profits Rebound

A seasonal splurge has helped lift Asia’s crimped gasoline refining profits out of a long slump, but higher crude prices and the rise of energy-efficient cars are set to leave margins stuck at historically weak levels, industry watchers say. Asia’s gasoline margin stood at nearly $9.60 barrels per day on May 25, well above the 20-month low of $5.42 a barrel on April 19, Reuters reported. Traders say the surge since late April has been triggered by strong demand. Firms like Indonesia’s Pertamina, Asia’s top gasoline importer, have led the charge, buying actively ahead of the Ramadan fasting month, which this year goes from May 17 to June 14. In India, meanwhile, Bharat Petroleum has beefed up imports in recent weeks to meet an uptick in demand. “Looking just at Asia, we see demand growth for 2018 at 157,000 bpd year-on-year up 2%, down marginally from the 160,000-bpd growth we had at the beginning of May,” said Michael Dei-Michei, the head of research at consultancy JBC Energy.