SINGAPORE: Asia’s naphtha inter-month spread persisted at its lowest since April as firm demand was countered by ample supplies due to high volumes of cargoes coming from Europe, the Mediterranean and the United States.
Front-month first-half December price was $7 a tonne lower than that of first-half January, making this the steepest discount in about six months.
Several buyers were looking for December cargoes.
But industry sources said YNCC may have cancelled the tender while Mitsui paid flat to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis.
Titan will award its tender on Wednesday while PCS paid a discount in the mid-single digit level, the sources added.
Hanwha could have paid a premium of 50 cents due to the higher paraffinic content of 80% it was seeking.
India’s Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd sold 17,000 tonnes of naphtha on late Monday for Nov. 1-4 loading from Mumbai to BP at discounts of $22 to $24 a tonne to its own price formula on a free-on-board (FOB) basis after cancelling a tender previously.
Indian Oil Corp (IOC) sold 35,000 tonnes of the fuel to Glencore last week for Nov. 9-11 loading from Chennai at discounts of 50 cents to $1 a tonne to its own price formula on a FOB basis.
Analysts estimated that gasoline inventories in the United States likely fell two million barrels last week in a preliminary Reuters poll.
The United States remained battered by hurricanes.—Reuters
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