BEIJING: China’s apparent demand for gasoline edged up 1% year on year in March and for LPG and naphtha fell 2.9% and 2.3% respectively, according to S&P Global Platts calculations based on latest official data.
For gasoline, apparent demand also climbed up 1.8% month on month to 2.85 million b/d in March, according to Platts calculations. Market sources said actual gasoline demand was likely to be higher if the demand met by blended barrels was taken into consideration. Blended barrels are not included in apparent demand calculations because of the absence of official data. But sales of imported mixed aromatics, which are used mainly as a blending material for gasoline, provide an indication of demand.
