SINGAPORE: Asia's naphtha crack was at a two-session high of $114.80 a tonne on Thursday, only 0.6 percent shy of a 5-1/2 month high hit on May 22, supported by strong demand.
- Premiums for July spot cargoes in South Korea have gone above $15 a tonne, compared with premiums in the low single digits during the same period last year.
- South Korea's KPIC paid premiums of about $16.50 a tonne to Japan quotes cost-and-freight (C&F) for naphtha scheduled for delivery in the first half of July, traders said.
- This came a day after Hanwha Total, LG Chem and Japan's Showa Denko were also buying naphtha for the first half of July.
- Malaysia-based Titan also bought a cargo on Thursday for first-half July delivery at Pasir Gudang, with traders estimating premiums to be in the low-teen level to Japan quotes C&F.
- The deals could not be confirmed because buyers do not typically comment on their trades.
- Formosa, Asia's top naphtha importer, was also looking to buy cargoes for arrival in the first half of July at Mailiao through a tender with offers to stay valid until May 25.
TENDERS: Premiums for Indian cargoes were also on an upward spiral, with cargoes mostly sold above $30 a tonne.
- BPCL sold up to 40,000 tonnes of naphtha to Gunvor for June 19-20 loading from Kochi at premiums of about $36 a tonne to the refiner's price formula on a free-on-board (FOB) basis.
- This was the highest BPCL has fetched for a cargo sold out of Kochi since 2014.
- Traders said Gunvor also picked up a 35,000-tonne cargo from MRPL for June 15-17 loading at premiums of about $34 a tonne to Middle East quotes FOB. This was the highest price fetched since it sold a cargo for July 6-8 loading in 2014.
- Reliance, meanwhile, sold 75,000 tonnes for loading in the second half of June at premiums above $30 a tonne to Middle East quotes FOB, traders added.
- These deals could not be independently verified.
GASOLINE: Asia's crack slipped 1 cent to $9.64 a barrel with lower stocks seen in Singapore, though the rise in US inventories was unexpected.
- Singapore onshore light distillates stocks, which comprise mostly gasoline and blending components for petrol, fell 4.2 percent, or 608,000 barrels, to a two-week low of 13.88 million barrels in the week to May 23, official data showed.
CASH DEALS: No naphtha deals but three on gasoline.
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