BPCL sells naphtha cargo to Unipec at about a third lower than previous October cargoes

12-Oct-12

India’s Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) sold a naphtha cargo to Unipec for about US$26/ton above Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, down by as much as a third on spot prices for two previous October cargoes, as per Reuters. The 30,000-tonne cargo is scheduled for Oct. 29-31 loading from Mumbai. Lower premium is not seen as an indication of a softer market, but is being attributed to the smaller cargo size, as BPCL usually exports 35,000 tons out of Mumbai. Usually, the smaller the cargo, the lower the price since traders are not able to maximize the freight rates. The strong naphtha market may have been a reason why BPCL decided to sell lesser than its usual volumes.