Naphtha crack in Asia march higher on expected lower supplies

19-Oct-16

Naphtha crack in Asia rose for the fourth straight session on Tuesday to reach US$57.29/ton, its highest since Sept. 26, supported by expectations of lower supplies ahead, as per Reuters. Cargoes streaming to Asia from Europe and India have been slow, especially from the latter after it had exported more than 900,000 tons of naphtha for August, official data showed. India's October shipments were seen at less than 600,000 tons because Indian Oil Corp (DOC) exports from Paradip were mostly absent. The state-owned refiner was regularly selling at least two cargoes of naphtha from its Paradip refinery between January and September, with the cargo sizes ranging from 18,000 to 55,000 tons. But the naphtha exports from Paradip were only a temporary measure because of a gasoline-making unit being idle, IOC has said.

Imports from Western countries, including from Europe and the Mediterranean, have been kept below 1 mln tons since July, against a monthly average of 1.52 mln tons for first half of the year, giving Asia time to digest the glut.