Naphtha crack in Asia reverses gains amid ample supplies and outpaced demand

29-Jun-16

Asia's naphtha crack reversed all of its gains on Monday to hit US$51.13/ton, its lowest since June 15, as ample supplies persisted and outpaced demand, as per Reuters. South Korea's LG Chem bought naphtha for delivery in H1-August at Daesan and Yeosu at discounts of US$3.50/ton and US$4/ton respectively to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis.
The discount was steeper than YNCC's purchase on June 23 at US$3.50-3.75/ton for cargoes delivering to Yeosu in H1-August. JG Summit of the Philippines was also seeking 25,000 tons of naphtha for H1-August, delivering to Batangas, through a tender closing on June 29. Offers remain valid until June 30. Japan's JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp is investigating the cause of an oil tank fire at its 270,000 barrels per day (bpd) Negishi refinery but operations at its two crude distillation units (CDUs) and secondary units were not affected, the company said.