Asia's naphtha cracks extended losses to reach a three-session low of $39.73 a tonne on Wednesday while the gasoline margin fell to a 1-1/2 week low of $1.83 a barrel due to unrelenting glut in supplies. Months of lower naphtha cargoes arriving in Asia from the West, including Europe, were countered by ample supplies in the East and the Middle East, traders said.
Chinese refinery throughput stayed high which resulted in more gasoline and naphtha being produced in the first half of the year when compared with the same period last year. Official data showed that refinery output in China has yielded a total of 64.23 million tonnes of gasoline and nearly 16 million tonnes of naphtha in the six months, up 8.9 percent and 12.8 percent respectively on the first half of 2015. Traders said Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC), which typically ties up the bulk of its naphtha supplies through one-year contracts, has also been offering spot naphtha for August loading.