Asian naphtha crack extends losses to reach a four-session low of US$137.50/ton

11-Apr-14

Asian naphtha crack extended losses to reach a four-session low of US$137.50/ton, with no spot trades in South Korea on Thursday after at least three buyers bought H2-May cargoes in the previous session, as per Reuters. "Not all buyers in South Korea are completely covered for second-half May. There is still some demand left, but no tenders were seen issued today," said a North Asian trader. Some traders continued to be bullish, saying that expensive liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) would make it difficult for petrochemical firms to fully replace naphtha with the alternative feedstock. Exports of naphtha from India slowed down, with its supplies potentially affected by maintenance at a 330,000 bpd crude unit operated by Reliance Industries and the April-May closing of an 80,000 bpd crude unit by Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL).