SINGAPORE: Asia's naphtha crack extended gains to touch a six-session high of $58.18 a tonne as buyers sought first-half July cargoes.
NAPHTHA SPOT DEALS: South Korea's LG Chem bought two cargoes totalling an average of 50,000 tonnes of naphtha for first-half July delivery at premiums of about $2.00 a tonne to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis, traders said.
- They added that the cargoes could be delivered to Daesan.
- LG Chem operates two crackers in South Korea, one in Daesan and another in Yeosu.
- It had previously paid about $1.75 a tonne premium for a cargo scheduled for first-half July arrival at Yeosu.
- Cargoes delivered to Yeosu usually fetch a slightly lower price versus those shipped to Daesan.
- Since May 17, China, South Korea and Taiwan have bought at least 480,000 tonnes of naphtha through tenders from the spot market for first-half July delivery.
GASOLINE: Asia's gasoline crack was at a five-week high of $10.69 a barrel supported by demand.
STOCK LEVELS: Japan's gasoline stocks edged up 40,000 barrels to reach a four-week high of 11.93 million barrels in the week to May 27, official data showed.
- But its naphtha inventories were down 290,000 barrels to 9.8 million barrels.
- Gasoline stocks in the United States were forecast to have fallen by 1 million barrels last week, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.
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