The Asian naphtha crack rose to a four-session high of $138.85 a tonne on Monday, recovering from a marginal loss the previous session, due to healthy demand and a deccline in supply, traders said Lower-than-average European naphtha volumes have been coming to Asia, a development that has combined with heavy refinery maintenance in the East to squeeze supply.
Traders expect Europe and the Mediterranean to export less than 1 million tonnes of naphtha to Asia for May arrival, down from a monthly average of 1.1 million tonnes in 2013. "The reasons behind the strong market are unchanged," a Singapore-based trader said, referring to the lower European exports to Asia. "Bulls are taking this opportunity to keep the market supported."
Buyers need the light fuel to feed their petrochemical units, most of which are running at high rates. Taiwan's CPC was seeking full-range naphtha and heavy naphtha for late April to late May arrival at Kaohsiung in a tender due to be awarded this week. The tender came shortly after Asia's top naphtha importer, Formosa Petrochemical Corp locked in about 100,000 tonnes of naphtha for first-half May arrival at Mailiao and up to 500,000 tonnes for June-to-November delivery.
TENDERS: Reliance Industries sold 55,000 tonnes of naphtha for late-April loading from Sikka to a European trading house at premiums in the high-$20s-a-tonne level to Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis. HPCL sold 25,000 to 30,000 tonnes of naphtha for April loading from Vizag to Vitol, but the premium was not known. Bangladesh Petroleum Corp issued a tender on Monday to sell 170,000 barrels of naphtha for May 10-12 loading from Chittagong, a company official said. The tender will close on April 21, with validity up to April 27.
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