SINGAPORE, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Asia's gasoline margins slumped to their lowest in more than three weeks on Friday, as gasoline inventories in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp $(ARA)$ area climbed to their highest in 13 months.

The crack dropped from $7.79 a day earlier to $7.13 per barrel over Brent crude, its weakest level since Nov. 27.

Gasoline stocks independently held in the ARA refining and storage hub rose by nearly 1% in the week to Thursday, reaching their highest since mid-November 2023, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.

Meanwhile, Chinese gasoline demand is expected to decline with the rapid transition to electric mobility as well as slower economic growth, LSEG Oil Research analysts said in a report on Friday.

In the naphtha market, the margins slipped to $93.98 from $96.30 the previous day.

In deals, energy trader AGT Asia sold 25,000 tons of naphtha for loading in the second half of February 2025 to Shell International Eastern Trading Company (SIETCO), and Thai state-owned PTT sold 100,000 barrels of 92-octane gasoline loading during Jan. 15-19 to Unipec Singapore, market participants said.

NEWS

Oil prices fell on Friday on worries about demand growth in 2025, especially in top crude importer China, putting global oil benchmarks on track to end the week down nearly 3%.

Chinese state-owned refiner Sinopec said in its annual energy outlook released on Thursday that China's crude imports could peak as soon as 2025 and the country's oil consumption would peak by 2027 as diesel and gasoline demand weaken.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

One naphtha deal and one gasoline deal.

PRICES

CASH ASIA CLOSE Change Prev RIC

Close

OSN Naphtha CFR Japan 638.25 -4.50 642.75

M1 ($/mt) >

OSN Naphtha CFR Japan 634.00 -4.50 638.50

M2 ($/mt) >

OSN Naphtha Diff 4.25 0.00 4.25

($/mt) F>

Naphtha Netback FOB 68.92 -0.45 69.37

Sing ($/bbl)

Naphtha Diff FOB Sing 0.40 0.00 0.40

F>

Naphtha-Brent Crack 93.98 -2.32 96.30

($/mt) K>

Gasoline 97 ($/bbl) 82.94 -0.95 83.89

Gasoline 95 ($/bbl) 83.60 -0.95 84.55

Gasoline 92 ($/bbl) 79.70 -0.95 80.65

Gasoline crack ($/bbl) 7.13 -0.66 7.79

RK>

For a list of derivatives prices, including margins, please double click

the RICs below.

Brent M1

Naphtha CFR Japan M1

1>

Naphtha CFR Japan M1/M2

1>

Naphtha CFR Japan M2

2>

Naphtha Japan-Sing

Netback M1 1>

Naphtha Japan-Sing

Netback M2 2>

Naphtha FOB Sing M1

1>

Naphtha FOB Sing M1/M2

1>

Naphtha FOB Sing M2

2>

Naphtha Cracks M1

1>

East-West Naphtha M1

East-West Naphtha M2

NWE Naphtha M1

>

NWE Naphtha M1/M2

1>

NWE Naphtha M2

>

Crack NWE Naphtha-Brent

M1 1>

Crack NWE Naphtha-Brent

M2 2>

*Sing refers to

Singapore

(Reporting by Gabrielle Ng; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

((gabrielle.ng@thomsonreuters.com;))