March naphtha imports for ethylene production falls in Japan

14-Apr-11

In the month of March 2011, Japan's naphtha imports for ethylene production fell 16.5% month-on-month to 1.193 mln tons, as reported by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. As per Platts, this fall can be attributed to the impact of the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Imports were down 10.5% year-on-year despite Japanese steam crackers undergoing a heavy slate of turnarounds over February-June 2010 that had already lowered imports. Japan's naphtha import prices in the month rose 0.9% from February to US$886.1/mt.