SINGAPORE: Asia's naphtha crack rose to a near five-month high of $94.25 a tonne on Monday, boosted by strong demand at a time when fewer cargoes are arriving from the West, including Europe and the Mediterranean, due to refinery run cuts.

The strong fundamentals have driven spot prices to their highest in more than three months.

However, the high premiums have resulted in a handful of buyers withdrawing their purchase tenders, industry sources said, although this could not be independently confirmed.

In Bahrain, Bapco sold 50,000 tonnes of naphtha for second-half August loading from Sitra Port late last week at premiums of more than $26 a tonne to Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis.

This was higher than the $22-a-tonne premium Bapco had previously fetched for a cargo sold for Aug. 1-4 loading.