SINGAPORE: Asia's naphtha crack rose to a near 2-1/2-week high of $85.25 a tonne on Monday, supported by recent demand amid fewer East-bound cargoes. East-bound cargoes refer to Western cargoes arriving from Europe, Mediterranean and the United States.
Cumulative east-bound naphtha cargoes from Europe, the Mediterranean and the United States will fall at least 40% in August to 1.6 million-1.7 million tonnes from May's record high due to run cuts in Europe, traders said. That is about 7%-9% lower versus July, they said.
India's supplies have also been comparatively low in June and July at below 400,000 tonnes each, compared with 816,000 tonnes in May, data from Refinitiv Oil Research showed.
Sinopec Corp's Zhongyuan Petrochemical Corp will shut down its ethylene production of 180,000 tonnes per year from Aug.1 until Sept.14 for maintenance, Sinopec said in a statement on Monday.
Asia's gasoline crack rose to a two-session high of $1.30 a barrel. China CNOOC has offered up to 37,000 tonnes of gasoline for Aug.28-29 loading from Huizhou Dagang Terminal via a tender which closes on Tuesday.