Asia's naphtha crack edged up to $70.58 a tonne after hitting a four-session low in the previous session as brisk demand lifted values, traders said. South Korea's LG Chem bought naphtha for second-half April delivery at discounts deeper than $3 a tonne to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis. Malaysia-based Titan had also bought a cargo for the same delivery period but around a mid-single digit discount to Japan.
This came a day after Lotte Chemical bought naphtha for second-half April delivery at discounts around $3.50 a tonne to Japan quotes on a C&F basis. A buyer was also out to lock in term cargoes, traders added. "There are quite a lot of Western cargoes arriving in first-half of April in Asia but by end April, the surplus should not be as bad," said a Singapore-based trader.
European trader Vitol has bought 35,000 tonnes of naphtha from Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) for April 11-13 loading from New Mangalore at premiums of about $6.50 a tonne to Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis. This was sharply lower than the premiums of $16 a tonne it paid MRPL previously for a cargo lifting on March 20-22. Vitol also purchased 55,000 tonnes of naphtha from Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) for March 26-28 loading from Kochi at premiums close to $7 a tonne to Middle East quotes on a FOB basis. Petron was looking to sell up to 400,000 barrels of gasoline a month for June 1 2017 to May 2018 lifting from Malaysian ports through a tender closing on March 17.
GASOLINE GAINS Asia's gasoline was at a 1-1/2 week high of $9.71 a barrel, mirroring the jump in overnight US gasoline futures after the fuel posted its biggest weekly inventory drawdown since April 2011. But Singapore's onshore light distillates stocks, which comprise mostly gasoline and blending components for petrol, rose nearly 10 percent, or 1.25 million barrels to reach a four-week high of almost 14 million barrels in the week to March 8, official data showed.
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