Asia's naphtha crack extended gains to reach a five-session high of $90.05 a tonne on Tuesday due to recent firm demand and slow-moving eastbound cargoes from the West, including Europe. India's naphtha exports were seen above 600,000 tonnes for March versus around 400,000 tonnes for February. But next month's volumes were still below the 800,000 tonnes in January as reflected in official data.
Reliance, which had sold over 160,000 tonnes of naphtha with a minimum 70 percent of paraffin content for March and has offered another 55,000 tonnes for next month loading, had the most volumes to sell among the Indian refiners, Reuters data showed. But it had also bought between 60,000 and 90,000 tonnes of heavy full-range naphtha for March arrival to cater to growing domestic demand. Saudi Arabia may raise its current domestic gasoline prices by 30 percent from July as part of a reform plan by the world's top oil exporter to align its fuel prices with global benchmark levels. It had already raised the price of 95-octane grade gasoline in December 2015.
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