Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) sold an early May naphtha cargo to Japan's Marubeni at about US$41/ton premium, making this the lowest price the state-owned company has received for a Mumbai cargo in about four months, as per traders in Reuters. The 35,000 ton cargo sold to Marubeni is scheduled for May 2-3 loading from Mumbai and the premium is pegged to Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis. Asia's naphtha premiums have been under pressure due to large volumes of European cargoes coming in next month. However, some unexpected spot purchases for H2-May cargoes from South Korean buyers helped reverse some of the losses in the Asian naphtha margin.
Separately, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) also saw its premium diving after selling 11,000 tons of naphtha for May 6-10 lifting from Haldia port to Glencore at premiums in the low $20s level to Middle East quotes on a FOB basis. This is down nearly 48% from a sale of a March cargo to Unipec. It is unclear if BPCL had sold any cargoes out of Haldia for April lifting.
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