Asia's naphtha recovers from 6-month low

SINGAPORE: Asia's naphtha crack rebounded from a near six-month low to end the week at a three-session high of $43.80 a tonne, but this was still about 35% lower versus a month ago as the supply glut persisted. Demand was not sufficient to offset the glut. Buyers this week included Japan's Mitsui, Singapore's PCS and South Korea's Lotte Chemical.

Industry sources said PCS paid a discount of about $3 a tonne to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis while Lotte forked out a discount of about $5. This could not be confirmed as buyers do not typically comment on their deals. Asia's gasoline crack jumped to a 2-1/2 week high of $2.14 a barrel. But gasoline stockpiles in the United States and Singapore were up.