NEW DELHI: Asia’s naphtha surged to a record high on Tuesday, as market players anticipated supply disruption from Russia amid Ukraine crisis.
The crack jumped to $212.15 per tonne, up $35.88 from Monday’s close, and the inter-month time spread jumped to $37.50 a tonne, the highest since August 2013. Asia, being structurally short of naphtha, imports the light fuel from the Middle East and Russia.
The uncertainty around political and economic sanctions on Russia, and fears of ships being targeted on the Black Sea route due to the ongoing invasion on Ukraine is weighing on market sentiment, traders said.
Naphtha inflows from the top supplier Middle East contracted by 16% in February month-on-month to a one-year low of 2.6-2.7 million tonnes due to planned maintenance at refineries, according to assessments by Refinitiv Oil Research.
India’s state-owned refiner offered a naphtha cargo of volume 25,000 tonnes for delivery by late-March. Britain ordered its ports to block any vessels that are Russian-flagged or believed to be registered, owned or controlled by any person connected with Russia as it ratcheted up the pressure on Moscow.
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