Asia Naphtha/Gasoline-Timespread, premiums highest since 2018

• Naphtha price for front-month first-half November was $13.50 higher than the following month, making this the widest intermonth gap since Jun. 4, 2018.
• These fresh premiums were the highest BPCL has received for cargoes sold out of Kochi and Mumbai since June 2018.

SINGAPORE: Asia's naphtha intermonth timespread and spot premiums were at their highest in over a year, as attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities on Sept. 14 raised supply worries.

Naphtha price for front-month first-half November was $13.50 higher than the following month, making this the widest intermonth gap since Jun. 4, 2018, Reuters data showed.

A widening gap typically reflects a tighter market.

Several buyers emerged this week and premiums were mostly at their highest levels since 2018.

Taiwan's Formosa, for instance, bought around 100,000 tonnes of open-specification naphtha for first-half November arrival at Mailiao at premiums of about $12 a tonne to its own price formula on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis, the highest it has paid since May 2018.

It had on Sept. 12 paid a discount of $2 for cargoes scheduled for second-half October arrival.

TENDERS: India's BPCL sold 30,000 tonnes of naphtha this week for Oct. 3-5 loading from Mumbai to Idemitsu at premiums of about $21 a tonne to its own price formula on a free-on-board (FOB) basis.

This was at least four times more against the premium Idemitsu had paid to BPCL for a Sept. 18-20 cargo and at least 20 times higher compared to premium of $1 Vitol had forked out for a Sept. 6-8 cargo.

BPCL had also, on late Wednesday, sold 35,000 tonnes for Oct. 16-17 loading from Kochi to BP at premiums of about $27 a tonne.

These fresh premiums were the highest BPCL has received for cargoes sold out of Kochi and Mumbai since June 2018, Reuters data showed.

GASOLINE: Asia's gasoline crack fell 36 cents to $6.24 a barrel, lowest since Sept. 10 on higher inventories.

Singapore's onshore light distillates inventories which comprise mainly gasoline and blending component for petrol, edged up 72,000 barrels or 0.72pc to reach a two-week high of 10.072 million barrels in the week to Wednesday, data from Singapore Enterprise showed.

Gasoline stocks in the US rose by 519,000 barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

OTHER NEWS: Saudi Arabia's ethane gas output is now at 900 million standard cubic feet versus domestic demand at 940 million standard cubic feet per day as it recovers from the attacks on the Abqaiq and Khurais facilities on Sept. 14, said its energy minister, the Saudi state news agency reported.

CASH DEALS: Naphtha trades were absent but there were four deals on gasoline.