Naphtha crack in Asia at 2-month high on tight supplies

11-Jul-14

Naphtha crack in Asia rose 5.5% to reach a two-month high of $157.40/ton on Wednesday as stubborn tight prompt supplies held up the value, as per traders in Reuters. They added that traders were mostly not releasing spot naphtha barrels in anticipation of higher prices ahead when end users come forward to buy cargoes for second-half August delivery. "The strong gasoline market is still giving naphtha some support," said a Singapore-based trader. Japan's Showa Denko has restarted a 691,000 tonnes per year (tpy) naphtha cracker in Oita on Wednesday, a day after it shut the unit following a compressor problem. The swift restart of the unit took some traders by surprise as they had expected a shutdown period lasting a week.