Naphtha margin in Asia rose for a second session to reach a five-session high of US$145.53/ton at the start of the week, supported by a stream of spot demand. Lotte Chemical, South Korea's top ethylene maker by capacity, bought about 75,000 tons of naphtha for H2-January delivery to Yeosu and Daesan at premiums ranging from about US$11-14/ton to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis. Lotte Chemical operates a 1 mln tpa cracker each in Daesan and Yeosu, and its purchase came shortly after Asia's top buyer Formosa Petrochemical issued a tender last week seeking H1-January cargoes.
Traders said Formosa locked in around 150,000 tons at premiums of around US$8 or slightly under US$8/ton to Japan quotes on a C&F basis. This was largely stable from the US$7-9/ton premium paid on November 14. Malaysia-based Titan, a unit of Lotte Chemical, bought a naphtha cargo on November 29 for early January 2014 delivery at about US$11/ton to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis.
However, sentiments are dampened with expectation of cargoes from Europe and the United States in January.
03-Dec-13 
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