Asia's naphtha crack hit a one-year high of $92 a tonne on Thursday while timespread and spot premiums were at more than 6-year highs as a supply crunch deepened. The inter-month timespread, the price difference between the second-half of November and the second-half of December, rose to $2.50 to$21.50 a tonne, its highest since March 28 2013, Reuters data showed.
South Korea's YNCC joined a string of buyers this week purchasing naphtha at around a $30 a tonne premium to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis for open-specification naphtha scheduled for second-half November delivery to Yeosu, industry sources said. This is the highest premium it had paid since Feb. 7, 2013 and is triple the $10 a tonne it paid three weeks ago, Reuters data showed.
South Korea's GS Caltex, SK Energy and KPIC were looking for cargoes earlier this week. GS Caltex's premiums were around $25 a tonne to Japan quotes on a C&F basis, while KPIC and SK Energy had paid premiums of more than $25 a tonne and $29 a tonne respectively. All premiums are based on estimates given by industry sources. Buyers typically do not comment on their deals. India BPCL and IOC have outstanding tenders to sell naphtha on late Thursday.
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