SINGAPORE, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Gasoline margins reverted to downward pressure on Thursday, slipping towards two-month lows.

The crack for the motor fuel fell below $5 per barrel. Recovery has been capped in the market due to a lack of clear bullish drivers.

Naphtha margins also retreated on Thursday, sliding to about $73 per metric ton. Higher inbound supplies this month capped strength in the margins.

Meanwhile, inventories of light distillates in Singapore fell for a second straight week to 14.87 million barrels for the week to Jan. 15, hitting four-week lows, Enterprise Singapore data showed.

In the U.S., gasoline stocks rose by 5.9 million barrels in the week ending Jan. 10 to 243.6 million barrels, based on the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations for a 2 million-barrel build.

NEWS

Oil prices steadied on Thursday, a day after settling at multi-month highs on the latest U.S. sanctions on Russia and a larger-than-forecast fall in U.S. crude stocks.

Spot premiums for Middle East crude rose to their highest in more than two years as strong demand from top importers China and India to replace sanctioned supply drove up prices, traders said.

Indian Oil Corp, the country's top refiner by capacity, is seeking to buy high-sulphur oil through spot tenders, its first sour crude import tenders since March 2022, trade sources said on Thursday.

South Korea is interested in importing more U.S. oil and gas to diversify energy sources and ensure stable supplies given tensions in the Middle East, the country's industry minister Ahn Duk-geun said on Thursday.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

No deals for gasoline and naphtha.

PRICES

LIGHT DISTILLATES

CASH ($/T) ASIA CLOSE Change Prev Close RIC

OSN Naphtha CFR Japan M1 688.25 1.75 686.50 <NAF-1H-TYO

>

OSN Naphtha CFR Japan M2 683.75 2.50 681.25 <NAF-2H-TYO

>

OSN Naphtha Diff 4.50 -0.75 5.25 <NAF-TYO-DI

F>

Naphtha Netback FOB Sing 74.47 0.19 74.28

Naphtha-Brent Crack 72.80 -4.48 77.28 <NAF-SIN-CR

K>

Gasoline 97 88.80 -1.07 89.87

Gasoline 95 88.55 -1.05 89.60

Gasoline 92 86.79 -0.26 87.05

Gasoline crack 4.73 -1.09 5.82 <GL92-SIN-C

RK>

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

RICs below.

Brent M1

Naphtha CFR Japan M1

Naphtha CFR Japan M1/M2

Naphtha CFR Japan M2

Naphtha Japan-Sing

Netback M1

Naphtha Japan-Sing

Netback M2

Naphtha FOB Sing M1

Naphtha FOB Sing M1/M2

Naphtha FOB Sing M2

Naphtha Cracks M1

East-West Naphtha M1

East-West Naphtha M2

NWE Naphtha M1

NWE Naphtha M1/M2

NWE Naphtha M2

Crack NWE Naphtha-Brent

M1

Crack NWE Naphtha-Brent

M2

*Sing refers to

Singapore

(Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

((jeslyn.lerh@thomsonreuters.com))