Asian naphtha crack spreads hovered around a week's low on Monday, while the half-month contango deepened slightly to reflect the ample supplies. Japan open-spec naphtha for front-month second-half September recovered $11.50 to $1,070 a tonne, while the crack spread against Brent crude fell $3.05 to stay at one week's low at $136.75 a tonne.
The half-month contango between second-half September and first-half October deepened by 50 cents to $1.50 a tonne, as European arbitrage cargoes are expected to continue flowing into Asia next month.