Hindustan Petroleum Corp sells naphtha at premiums half of previous two recent sales

13-Aug-14

India's Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd has sold naphtha for late August loading from Vizag at about US$14/ton above Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, down by half compared to two recent sales, as per Reuters. HPCL has sold at least 20,000 tons for Aug. 26-28. Traders opine that the buyer could have been Socar although this could not be confirmed as both parties do not normally comment on their deals. HPCL recently sold up to 30,000 tons of naphtha for Aug. 6-8 loading from Vizag to Vitol and similar volumes to PetroChina for Aug. 12-13 loading from Mumbai at premiums in the high US$20s/ton level. But the market has turned bearish due to ample supplies, causing spot prices on Aug. 7 to flip into a discount for the first time since October 2013, Reuters data showed.