Asia Naphtha/Gasoline-Gasoline hits three-week high

SINGAPORE: Asia's naphtha crack was at a three-session high of $66.28 a tonne on Wednesday, tracking the strength of gasoline where margins on petrol hit a three-week high of $9.47 a barrel due to firm demand, traders said.

"Gasoline has been going up this week so naphtha is getting a guide from that," said a Singapore-based trader.

Robust demand for gasoline has countered China's strong exports in recent months.

Official data showed that China exported about 940,000 tonnes of gasoline last month, up 8 percent from October and about 15 percent below a record high in June this year.

Japan also exported more gasoline in the week to Dec. 17 versus the previous week, official data showed.

As for naphtha, supplies continued to outpace demand despite a string of buyers scooping up cargoes since last week.

A Japanese petrochemical buyer bought a naphtha cargo for first-half February delivery at a discount to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis, an industry source said, without elaborating on the exact level.