Asia's naphtha crack hit a nine-week high of $88.63 a tonne on Wednesday, supported by good demand. South Korea's LG Chem, Taiwan's Formosa, Chinese CNOOC, Malaysia-based Titan and Japan's Idemitsu were seeking naphtha for May delivery. LG Chem was seen paying $12 to $12.50 a tonne premium over Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis for cargoes scheduled for first-half May delivery.
This was similar to levels it had paid on March 22, also for first-half May delivery. Japan's Idemitsu on the other hand paid levels in the mid-teens to Japan quotes on a C&F basis for the fuel also scheduled for first-half May delivery but to Tokuyama.
Titan on the other hand paid a two-digit level premium for naphtha scheduled for May delivery but the exact figures could not be confirmed, traders said. Titan had on March 8 paid around $5 a tonne premium for naphtha scheduled for second-half April delivery.
Asia's gasoline crack was at a three-session high of $7.70 a barrel but supplies flooded the market. Singapore's onshore light distillates stocks, which comprise mostly gasoline and blending components for the fuel, hit a new high of 15.635 million barrels in the week to March 27, official data showed.
Oversupply coupled with weak demand has prompted European trader Vitol to store gasoline aboard ships off the Singapore coast. This is the first time since 2016 that gasoline has been seen being kept aboard ships in Singapore. Traders said the small contango structure in Singapore's gasoline market did not make it economical to store gasoline aboard ships for most others. Vitol in the meantime was seen buying gasoline from the Singapore cash market, having bought two of the five cargoes changing hands on Wednesday.
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