For the last few quarters, analysts have been expecting refining margins of complex refiners like Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) to dip, as the benchmark Singapore GRMs (gross refining margins) have been declining. RIL has managed to surprise on that front, even though the benchmark Singapore GRMs have steadily declined.
In the June quarter of this year, Singapore GRMs declined $0.4 a bbl sequentially to $5.8 a bbl. RIL's GRMs, too, declined from $9.3 a bbl in the March quarter to $8.7 a bbl in the June quarter but were higher than the previous year's $8.4 a bbl.