Naphtha crack in Asia recedes on subdued demand

07-Aug-19

Asia's naphtha crack retreated to a three-session low of US$30.6/ton at the end of the previous week, after hitting a more than two-week high the previous day, as per Reuters. Spot demand remains mostly muted following a string of recent purchases including deals made by the Japanese, South Koreans and Malaysia-based Titan.

An industry source said that maintenance carried out by JXTG Nippon may have prompted buyers to seek spot cargoes although this could not be directly confirmed. JXTG has been carrying out scheduled maintenance at its various crude distillate units (CDUs) across Japan since March. It currently has maintenance works at a 145,000 bpd CDU in Sendai, data from Reuters showed.