Asia's naphtha crack was at a two-session low of $38.15 a tonne on Monday, weighed down by high crude oil prices and weak gasoline fundamentals. Asia's gasoline crack, for instance, remained at discounts to Brent crude as excess supply remained an issue.
Unusual demand from India was too small to turn the market around for gasoline, which also uses naphtha as a blending component. India's Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) bought 35,000 tonnes of gasoline for first-half March arrival at Kochi in a rare move to cater to demand.
Naphtha demand from the petrochemical sector, however, has remained firm. South Korea's Lotte Chemical came forward to buy naphtha for delivery in the second half of March at premiums in mid-single digits per tonne to Japan quotes for cost and freight (C&F). Several buyers were seeking naphtha last week for the second half of March, including Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and South Korea.
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