Asia's naphtha crack eased for the second day, this time by 0.1 percent to reach a three-session low of $96.20 a tonne on Thursday as high supplies dragged. Asia's gasoline crack was also down, touching a 1-1/2 week low of $8.36 a barrel.
Singapore's onshore light distillates inventories, which comprise mostly gasoline and blending components for petrol, rose 9.4 percent or nearly 1.1 million barrels to reach a two-week high of 12.43 million barrels in the week to Sept. 19, official data showed. Gasoline inventories in Japan were also up, having risen by 690,000 barrels to 10.48 million barrels in the week to Sept. 15, official data showed.
Gasoline stocks in the US on the other hand fell by 1.7 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 104,000-barrel drop. Taiwan's Formosa was seeking spot naphtha this week for Nov. 1-10 and Nov. 11-20 arrival at Mailiao.
Traders expect prices for Formosa's Nov. 1-10 tender to lower versus the Nov. 11-20 tender due to heavier supplies in first-half November. They added this was because the oversupply in October would extend into first-half November. South Korea and Japan were already paying discount levels to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis this week for cargoes arriving in first-half November.
Formosa in the meantime has agreed a 2019 term deal at premiums of about $2.50 to $3.00 a tonne to its own price formula on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis. India's Nayara Energy sold up to 35,000 tonnes of naphtha for Oct. 14-18 loading from Vadinar at a single-digit premium a tonne to Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, traders said, adding that the buyer's identity was unknown. Nayara Energy had previously sold similar volumes for Sept. 23-27 loading to Trafigura at a high single digit premium.
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