Asia's naphtha crack recovered to a two-session high of $124.48 a tonne on Friday after hitting its lowest in two weeks in the previous session due to higher western volumes provisionally booked for December arrival in the East. But the steady stream of demand and a lack of cheaper alternative liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) replacing naphtha could continue to keep fundamentals strong, traders said.
Additionally, rough weather during winter in Europe/the Mediterranean would typically result in cargoes coming to Asia later than originally planned, a trader said. Indian premiums held firm despite some softness seen in the market in the previous session. India's Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) on Thursday sold to Japan's Idemitsu 35,000 tonnes of naphtha for Dec. 10-12 loading from New Mangalore at premiums of about $21 to Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis.
MRPL has an outstanding tender to sell another 35,000 tonnes of the fuel for Dec. 24-26 loading through a tender closing on November 21. Japan's naphtha imports in October at nearly 1.3 million tonnes was the highest monthly volumes since January 2016, official data showed. Japan's October output of ethylene, made mainly from naphtha, was at a two-month high of 546,000 tonnes. Gasoline stocks held independently in storage tanks at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) storage and refining hub rose 7 percent from last week to reach 981,000 tonnes in the week ended Nov. 16, data from Dutch consultancy showed.
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