Asia's leading naphtha buyer- Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corp has bought close to 150,000 tons of naphtha after skipping January spot purchases, as per traders in Reuters. Formosa bought the cargoes at a discount of about US$12-15/ton to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis. In November 2014, it realised a discount of about US$14-15 for H2-December spot cargoes. Rival CPC Corp was also in the market to buy February spot naphtha, and is reported to have likely paid a discount of about US$12.
China's Unipec also bought a cargo on Jan. 16 for H2-February delivery to an undisclosed port in China. South Korea's LG Chem just emerged on Friday to seek naphtha for first-half March delivery to Yeosu.
The current discount reflect a market with ample supplies, that have, however recovered a little recently as the United States is likely to halt supplies to Asia following refinery trouble.
19-Jan-15 
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