The Asian naphtha price ended the week at a two-session high of $877.50 a tonne, reversing the losses from the previous day but its margin fell for the third straight day to a four-session low of $98.40 a tonne due to concerns of ample supplies. Traders said the weak market may have caused the cancellation of some eastbound cargoes scheduled for July arrival in Asia as sellers were anxious to keep supplies down and premium levels firm.
Spot demand this week, with the exception of Malaysia, has been mostly muted due to an ongoing term talk held in London by Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) with its Asian buyers. But traders said KPC is set to seal the one-year deal starting August 2013 at a premium of $31 a tonne to Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, as at least one buyer has agreed to the new price, which is 11.42 percent down from its record price garnered for a contract spanning April 2013 to March 2014. Malaysia-based Titan, a unit of South Korea's Lotte Chemical, issued a tender seeking up to 50,000 tonnes of naphtha for July 11-15 arrival at Pasir Gudang.
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