Naphtha prices in Asia recover to a two-session high

20-May-11

Asia's naphtha price recovered to a two-session high on Thursday, snapping 4 straight sessions of losses, but cracks remained weak and hovered around a five-week low as supplies are expected to rise due to Taiwan's demand loss, as per Reuters. Formosa's 700,000 tpa No. 1 cracker, shut late last week following a fire in a pipeline, is to stay offline until H2-June. However, the weaker mood did not stop ADNOC from raising its pentane-plus naphtha grade for July 2011-June 2012 lifting to US$27/ton above its own price formula on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, higher compared to US$24/ton for July 2010-June 2011 delivery. These rises may see resistance from buyers. Price for front-month H1-July recovered by six dollars to US$964/ton.