Asia's naphtha cracks fell to $79.45 a tonne on Wednesday, down 5.2 percent from a five-week high hit in the previous session due to stronger Brent but persistent demand continued to lend support. South Korea's GS Caltex emerged to buy naphtha for second-half May delivery, a day after Hanwha Total had bought a light grade naphtha for second-half May delivery at premiums around the mid-single digit level to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis.
LG Chem was also in the market on Tuesday but decided against purchasing the fuel due to unworkable offers, traders said. Asia's naphtha front-month price for second-half May was $6.25 a tonne higher than second-half June, up $2.25 from the previous session in a reflection of strong fundamentals.
Asia's gasoline crack, similar to naphtha, slipped to a two-session low of $10.61 a barrel after reaching a near seven-week high in the previous session. Taiwan's CPC Corp has shut a gasoline-making unit at its Talin oil refinery in late March and the unit will be offline for around 20 days. The shutdown was not expected to impact its exports.
CPC offered 30,000 tonnes of 92-octane grade gasoline with a maximum sulphur content of 200 ppm for May 5-22 loading from Kaohsiung through a tender closing on April 6. Bids will stay valid until April 10.
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