SINGAPORE: Asia's naphtha crack rose to around $126 a tonne on Wednesday, supported by robust demand from the petrochemical industry and for blending into gasoline.
The gasoline crack also increased to around $11.20 a barrel, near its highest since mid-October as low oil prices boosted demand for the transportation fuel.
Benchmark Brent crude futures have fallen by around 8 percent since Friday, when OPEC failed to agree a ceiling on production, increasing the likelihood of a more persistent global surplus of oil next year.
The outlook for gasoline remained solid, analysts at PIRA Energy said.
"Gasoline cracks will stay reasonably firm this winter due to relatively tight inventory coverage which will underpin a strong 2016 gasoline season," they said in a note.
For naphtha, the premium of loading in second half of January over second half of February widened this week to about $5.50 a tonne, signalling stronger prompt demand.
India's MRPL sold 35,000 tonnes of naphtha loading at New Mangalore on Jan 4-6 in a tender to Itochu, traders said. The pricing details were unknown.
A new naphtha tender by MRPL for 35,000 tonnes loading Jan 17-19 at New Mangalore closes Dec 14 with bids valid until the following day.
Indonesia's state-owned Pertamina is seeking to import two 200,000-barrel cargoes of naphtha in a tender that closes Dec 11 with bids valid until Dec 14.
One cargo is for either loading from Singapore or Malaysia on Dec 31-Jan 2 or delivered into Balongan on Jan 4-6. The other cargo is for either loading from Singapore or Malaysia on Jan 15-17 or delivered into Balongan on Jan 19-21.
Japan's naphtha stocks rose 260,000 kilolitres to 1.82 million in the week to Dec 5, data from Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ) showed.
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