SINGAPORE: Asia's naphtha crack was at its highest since April 13 on Monday at $71.75 a tonne on strong demand.
- South Korea's Hanwha Total, SK Energy and LG Chem were snapping up cargoes, just days after GS Caltex, KPIC and Malaysia-based Titan bought a total of at least 170,000 tonnes for first-half June delivery.
- Hanwha Total was seen paying a premium of about $8.50 to $9.00 a tonne to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis, similar to what it had paid on April 18, traders said.
- LG Chem paid around a $8.50 a tonne premium versus $12.50 it paid on April 9.
- China's CNOOC awarded a tender on Monday to buy naphtha for second-half May to first-half June arrival at Huizhou at a premium above $12 a tonne to Japan quotes on a C&F basis but pegged to June pricing formula.
- China's Unipec also issued a tender last week but the results were not clear.
GASOLINE: Asia's gasoline crack rose to a 1-1/2 week high of $6.50 a barrel but the value was more than 40 percent lower versus a year ago, with sellers grappling with oversupply since the start of the year.
- China exported a record high volume of gasoline in March of 1.7 million tonnes, smashing the previous record at 1.23 million tonnes in December 2017, official data showed.
- An official with the energy research unit of CNOOC said China should speed up the liberalisation of its retail fuel pricing scheme as high gasoline prices have caused overinvestment in refining capacity and added to a domestic fuel glut.
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