SINGAPORE: Asia's naphtha crack hit a one-month high of $88.25 a tonne supported by demand as most buyers have maximized using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as an alternative feedstock for a few months now given the wide gap between the two fuels.
- There's a limit on how much LPG Asian crackers could use as too much of the fuel would result in different petrochemical products yield.
- Demand for naphtha so far has been firm and more buyers are expected to emerge to buy naphtha for second-half June delivery.
- South Korea's LG Chem had on Wednesday bought two cargoes of naphtha for June 1-20 and second-half June delivery respectively at premiums of $12 to $13 a tonne to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis.
- This reflected a 41 to 53 percent spike in LG's previous deal done on April 23 at a premium of $8.50 for naphtha scheduled for first-half June delivery.
- Japan's Asahi Kasei paid a high single-digit premium but this was based on a 45-day pricing formula instead of using the usual 30-day basis.
GASOLINE: Asia's gasoline crack however fell to a four-session low of $6.60 a barrel as a build-up in gasoline stocks in the US could have offset the drawdown in inventories in Singapore.
- Singapore's onshore light distillates stocks, which comprise mostly gasoline and blending components for petrol, fell 5.2 percent of 692,000 barrels in the week to May 2 to reach over a five-month low of 12.51 million barrels, official data showed.
- But US gasoline stocks rose 1.2 million barrels which contrasted analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 587,000-barrel drop.
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