Asia's naphtha crack fell to a three-session low of $66.70 a tonne on Monday and was trading at a discount of more than $3 a barrel to Brent crude as ample supplies persisted. Demand continued to emerge but not enough to soak up all the supplies following high volumes of naphtha having arrived in Asia last month from the West, including Europe and the Mediterranean.
Cargoes arriving this month from the West were expected to stay above 2017's monthly average of nearly 1.2 million tonnes despite February being a shorter month in the calendar year. South Korea's LG Chem came forward to buy some 50,000 tonnes of naphtha for second-half March delivery to Yeosu at premiums of 50 cents or lower to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis.
This was the lowest premium LG Chem has paid since September. The fresh premium was, however, higher versus discounts of 50 cents or below that YNCC had paid on Friday, which also saw deals concluded in discounts in Taiwan and Malaysia.
"The spot price level is higher today as there were fewer offers seen. It could be because of the term demand," said a Singapore-based source.
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