Reliance Industries in focus as benchmark refining margin inches up

Morgan Stanley said RIL's margins would be 50 per cent above its last peak season in mid-2008

A benchmark of profitability for crude refiners has increased steadily in the past few weeks, bringing companies like Reliance Industries (RIL) into the spotlight.

The Singapore-Dubai Hydrocracking Refining Margin has spiked 21.33 per cent in the past month, on the back of rising demand for refined products globally. It now hovers around $34.47 a barrel.

On Thursday, Brent crude touched $120.7 a barrel as prices slipped over 2 per cent overnight after the US Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate by 0.75 per cent. From a refining perspective, a rise in the benchmark margin has been led by sanctions