Asia's naphtha crack recovered marginally from a three-week low to notch up a three-session high of $60.28 a tonne on Thursday but sellers remain under pressure from excess supplies. Lotte Chemical bought a naphtha cargo for second-half April delivery at a discount of $5 to $6 a tonne to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis, making this the lowest price for cargoes delivering to South Korea in a month.
"Judging from the current fundamentals, it will be quite tough for spot prices to turn positive anytime soon. Supply is just too much," said a Singapore-based trader. Malaysia-based Titan has also bought a second-half April naphtha cargo, traders said, estimating the discount to be at levels of $7 to $9 a tonne to Japan quotes on a C&F basis.
Neither of the spot deal prices could be directly confirmed as buyers do not reveal their trades. Asia's gasoline crack rebounded from a six-session low to a two-session high of $7.87 a barrel. Cash deals in the Singapore market were brisk, with a total of 350,000 barrels of gasoline being traded, largest volumes transacted in a single session in about two months.
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