Asia's gasoline crack edged up 14 cents on Monday to a two-session high of $6.73 a barrel while the naphtha crack was also at a two-session high of $81.85 a tonne, as lower oil prices provided some respite to refiners. But naphtha spot premiums were softening compared to a month ago. South Korea's YNCC for instance bought naphtha for second-half July arrival at Yeosu at premiums of about $9.50 a tonne to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis.
This was lower versus the $13 a tonne premium it had paid about a month ago for cargoes scheduled for second-half June delivery. Petron has offered 120,000 barrels of naphtha with a minimum 65 percent of paraffin content for June 26-28 loading from Bataan, the Philippines, through a tender closing on June 13, with bids to stay valid until June 14. Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) offered 28,000 tonnes of light for July 4-5 loading and 25,000 tonnes of full-range naphtha for July 6-7 loading through a spot tender closing on June 12.
The Middle Eastern supplier last week concluded talks with buyers and has set premiums for full-range naphtha lifting from Kuwait between August 2018 and July 2019 at $20 a tonne to Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis. Light grade for the same 12-month lifting period was set at a premium of $21.50 a tonne. These fresh contract premiums were more than double versus a contract sealed last year for August 2017 to July 2018.