Naphtha for H2 August, H1 Sept traded at wide discounts in Asia

04-Aug-16

Naphtha is Asia is being traded at wide discounts. S Korea's Lotte Chem has recently bought naphtha at wide discount, while Kuwait Petroleum Corp has sold sells naphtha at minus US$6/ton, as per Reuters. Cracker maintenance by Formosa, JX Nippon and an unexpected shutdown of Asahi have hurt sellers as it has brought offline approx 1.5 mln tons of ethylene.
South Korea's Lotte Chemical has bought naphtha for H1-September delivery at a discount of about US$10.50/ton to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis. This is the widest discount in nearly 19 months in South Korea as the market struggles with slower demand but high supplies

Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) has sold 74,000 tons of naphtha for late August loading to Itochu at discounts of about US$6/ton to Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis. This reflects not just a sharp drop compared to the US$5/ton premium it receives for naphtha lifting in H1-August, the discount is also one of the widest ever for Kuwait and is being attributed to high supplies, slower demand that are driving prices repeatedly lower.