Asia's naphtha price and intermonth spreads were at their highest in about two weeks on Thursday, as per Reuters. Cracks rose to an 8-1/2 month high as tighter supplies in Europe were expected to impact the East, which is structurally short of the light fuel. Asia continues to increasingly feel impact of tighter supplies in the West as refineries have either shut or are planning on shutting down permanently or temporarily due to poor margins. Some of these include Swiss-based oil refiner Petroplus, U.S. Hovensa, Alon USA Energy. Tighter supplies in the West would choke off fresh opportunities for traders to move cargoes into Asia.
The price for front-month H1-March rose by US$18.50 to US$973.50/ton, highest since Jan. 10, while naphtha cracks rose by over US$16 to US$144.30/ton premium.
27-Jan-12 
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