Asia naphtha's outright prices soared on Tuesday to their highest since mid-July, on surging oil prices that hit a record above $81 a barrel, but the premium against Brent crude fell on weak physical market.
The key open-spec naphtha contract for first-half November rose sharply to $715.50 a tonne, on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis, up from $705.00 in the previous session. But the ICE Brent/naphtha crack for the first-half of November fell to $135.90 a tonne, down from $137.50 in the previous session.
The contango between the first halves of November and December widened to $3.00 a tonne from last session's $2.00, reflecting the bearish market. But demand is picking up from South Korean end users, seeking late October or November supplies. LG Chem is seeking second-half November delivery supplies, while Lotte Daesan is also looking for the same delivery cargo.
LG Petrochemical Corp (LGPC) is looking to cover either a second-half October cargo or first-half November cargo, industry sources said. "We are waiting now because the prices are instantly up due to soaring crude prices," said a South Korean refinery source. ICE October Brent crude rose 30 cents to $77.28 by 0349 GMT, and up from $75.67 in the previous session's Asian trade.