Asia's naphtha crack was at a two-session low of $87.70 a tonne on Wednesday after hitting a near one-month high on Friday as some buyers have yet to emerge after completing purchases of cargoes scheduled for first-half June delivery. But Japan's Asahi Kasei was amongst the first few to buy naphtha for second-half June delivery.
The details of the deal were not known, but traders said the petrochemical firm would have paid a single-digit premium to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis. South Korea's LG Chem was also seeking naphtha for second-half June and first-half June delivery. Contract price negotiations between ADNOC and its Asian buyers were ongoing.
ADNOC set its offers for four naphtha grades loading between July 2018 and June 2019 at premiums of $24 to $27 a tonne to its own price formula on a free-on-board (FOB) basis. These were up by 108-118 percent when compared to an existing 12-month contract expiring in June. Asia's gasoline crack, similar to naphtha, was also at a two-session low of $7.16 a barrel. Taiwan's CPC returned to the market by offering a 30,000-tonne spot cargo for June 6-22 loading through a tender closing on May 3.