SINGAPORE: Asia's naphtha crack ended the month at nearly 7-year low of $5.47 a tonne on the back of a persistent glut that had turned spot prices of open-specification into discounts.
Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical, also Asia's top naphtha importer, bought about 100,000 tonnes of light fuel with at least 77pc paraffin content for July arrival at Mailiao at discounts within the range of $3 tonne to $4 a tonne to its own price formula on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis.
This was in sharp contrast to the premiums of between $5 and $6 it had paid on April 29 for cargoes arriving in first-half June.
This was also the lowest price Formosa has paid since Dec. 13.
South Korea's YNCC had already paid discount for open-specification naphtha on May 23.
Prices of other grades of naphtha including full-range and heavy full-range are still holding in premium levels.
But naphtha is the worse performing oil product for refiners at present in terms of margins.
TENDERS: India's BPCL sold 35,000 tonnes of naphtha for June 16-17 loading from Kochi to Glencore at premiums of about $8.50 a tonne to its own price formula on a free-on-board (FOB) basis.
BPCL had previously sold a cargo for May 15-16 loading, also to Glencore, but at a higher premium, industry sources said.
GASOLINE: Asia's gasoline crack remained positive, but was less than $1 a barrel as supplies were also building.
China's WEPEC offered up to 34,000 tonnes of gasoline for end-June loading from Dalian, coming in the same week where CNOOC and Hongrun were also offering to sell petrol for June.
Gasoline stocks in the US in the meantime rose by 2.2 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 528,000-barrel drop.
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