Asia's naphtha and gasoline cracks rebound-

16-Jun-11

Asia's naphtha and gasoline cracks rebounded on Wednesday despite a slump in spot differentials as rising supply weighed on sentiment, as per Reuters. Fundamentals are unlikely to improve in the short run. Fundamentals remained weak as refineries ramped up output after a maintenance season while exports from India and the Middle East rose, adding to supply in Asia. Demand fell as Asia's largest naphtha buyer Formosa Petrochemical advanced maintenance for its No. 3 cracker while its No. 1 unit remained shut after a fire hit a pipeline on May 12. Refiners Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) sold spot naphtha for June at lower premiums than previous deals while South Korea's LG Chem bought 50,000 tons of open-spec grade for H2-uly arrival at Daesan at wider discounts. LG Chem bought the two cargoes at around US$5/ton tone below the Japan spot quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis, wider than the US$3/ton discount it paid for H1-July supply.