Naphtha crack in Asia steady on muted buying in South Korea, Japan, China

07-May-14

Naphtha crack in Asia was mostly flat at US$139.3/ton as most buyers from North Asia stayed away for a second day because of holidays in South Korea, Japan and China, as per Reuters. Traders opine that the temporary lull did not weigh on sellers' sentiment as prompt supplies were seen tight and buyers are likely to need to replenish H2-June stocks when they return to the market. However, a string of refineries are taking turns to undergo maintenance. Reliance Industries has recently completed its turnaround, while Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) will restart a crude unit at its Kochi refinery by the weekend. BPCL plans a complete shutdown of its 120,000 bpd Bina refinery in central India for up to a month in September. The refinery exports a small volume of naphtha. Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has maintenance at its 300,000 bpd Panipat refinery this month, which has had a big impact on its naphtha exports. Many traders rely on India's spot exports to fill their supply shortfalls, but its export volumes fell to less than 500,000 tons a month for April and May, against an average of 660,000 tons a month in 2013.