NEW DELHI, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Asia's naphtha refining profit margin gained on Monday after crude oil benchmarks weakened, but the upside was capped by persisting subdued demand.

The crack rose by about $7 to $90.73 per metric ton over Brent crude. The backwardation between first-half April and first-half May cargoes widened to $12 a barrel.

In the spot market, Qatar Energy was heard to have sold two cargoes of around 75,000 tons each last week at a premium between $30 and $35 per ton to Japan quotes, market participants said.

In the gasoline market, the refining margin was steady at about $6 per barrel over Brent crude on Monday.

NEWS

- Oil prices fell over 1% on Monday as the U.S. and Iran prepared for a third round of nuclear talks, easing fears of an escalating conflict, while President Donald Trump's fresh tariff hikes created uncertainty for global growth and fuel demand. O/R

- State energy major Saudi Aramco has sold several cargoes of ultra light crude oil from its $100 billion Jafurah gas plant to U.S. majors and an Indian refiner as it prepares to export its first cargo later this month, four trade sources said.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS O/AS

One naphtha and one gasoline deal.

PRICES

CASH	ASIA CLOSE	Change	Prev Close	RIC
OSN Naphtha CFR Japan M1 ($/mt)	623.00	2.00	621.00	NAF-1H-TYO
OSN Naphtha CFR Japan M2 ($/mt)	611.00	-0.75	611.75	NAF-2H-TYO
OSN Naphtha Diff ($/mt)	12.00	2.75	9.25	NAF-TYO-DIF
Naphtha Netback FOB Sing ($/bbl)	67.22	0.22	67.00	NAF-SIN
Naphtha-Brent Crack ($/mt)	90.73	6.80	83.93	NAF-SIN-CRK
Gasoline 97 ($/bbl)	80.69	-0.30	80.99	GL97-SIN
Gasoline 95 ($/bbl)	79.13	-0.30	79.43	GL95-SIN
Gasoline 92 ($/bbl)	77.40	-0.30	77.70	GL92-SIN
Gasoline crack ($/bbl)	6.43	0.34	6.09	GL92-SIN-CRK
For a list of derivatives prices, including margins, please double click the RICs below.
Brent M1	BRENTSGMc1
Naphtha CFR Japan M1	NACFRJPSWMc1
Naphtha CFR Japan M1/M2	NACFRJPSDMc1
Naphtha CFR Japan M2	NACFRJPSWMc2
Naphtha Japan-Sing Netback M1	NAPTC4SPDMc1
Naphtha Japan-Sing Netback M2	NAPTC4SPDMc2
Naphtha FOB Sing M1	NAFOBSGSWMc1
Naphtha FOB Sing M1/M2	NAFOBSGSDMc1
Naphtha FOB Sing M2	NAFOBSGSWMc2
Naphtha Cracks M1	NACFRJPCKMc1
East-West Naphtha M1	NAPJPEWMc1
East-West Naphtha M2	NAPJPEWMc2
NWE Naphtha M1	NAPCNWEAMc1
NWE Naphtha M1/M2	NAPCNWEASMc1
NWE Naphtha M2	NAPCNWEAMc2
Crack NWE Naphtha-Brent M1	NAPCNWEACMc1
Crack NWE Naphtha-Brent M2	NAPCNWEACMc2
*Sing refers to Singapore