Naphtha cracks recover in Asia amid healthy demand and supply declines

02-Apr-14

Asian naphtha crack rose to a four-session high of US$138.8/ton at the start of this week, recovering from a marginal loss the previous session, due to healthy demand and a decline in supply, as per traders in Reuters. Lower-than-average European naphtha volumes have been coming to Asia, a development that has combined with heavy refinery maintenance in the East to squeeze supply. Traders expect Europe and the Mediterranean to export less than 1 million tons of naphtha to Asia for May arrival, down from a monthly average of 1.1 mln tons in 2013. "The reasons behind the strong market are unchanged," a Singapore-based trader said, referring to the lower European exports to Asia. "Bulls are taking this opportunity to keep the market supported." Buyers need the light fuel to feed their petrochemical units, most of which are running at high rates. Taiwan's CPC was seeking full-range naphtha and heavy naphtha for late April to late May arrival at Kaohsiung in a tender due to be awarded this week. The tender came shortly after Asia's top naphtha importer, Formosa Petrochemical Corp locked in about 100,000 tons of naphtha for H1-May arrival at Mailiao and up to 500,000 tons for June-to-November delivery.