Asian naphtha prices fell to near their lowest levels this year on Monday, while the inter-month contango widened reflecting a weak market where spot deals have recently been struck at increasingly deep discounts.
The key open-spec naphtha contract for the first half of December was notionally assessed at $513.50 a tonne, on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis, down from $525.50 on Friday. The price hit $513 on Thursday, the lowest since $507 marked on December 30, 2005.
The contango widened between the first halves of December and January to $9.50 a tonne from $8.75 on Friday. The market is in a very bearish mood due to the deep discounts seen in spot deals. Japan's Mitsui Chemicals Inc on Friday bought a 25,000-tonne, open-spec naphtha cargo for the first half of December at a discount of $6 to $9 to Japan spot quotes, C&F, compared with its last purchase at a $6 discount.
The ICE Brent/naphtha crack - the premium paid for naphtha compared with Brent crude prices - widened for the first half of December to $67.55 a tonne from $67 on Friday. ICE Brent crude fell about $1.67 from Friday's Asian trading to $59.46 a barrel. November Singapore naphtha swaps were valued at $55.70 a barrel, down from $56.95 on Friday.
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