Naphtha margin rose for third straight session to one week high of US$93.50/ton

19-Apr-13

The Asian naphtha price edged down to a two-session low of US$828.5/ton on Thursday but its margin rose for the third straight session to reach a one-week high of US$93.50/ton as unexpected demand gave some support, as per Reuters. Additionally, the value had been sinking too rapidly as concerns over high European cargoes coming to Asia dented some sellers' confidence, traders said. Despite the improvement in the last three sessions, the overall market was still sharply weaker than the first quarter of this year when traders were willing to pay record high premiums just to secure cargoes. Buyers were not expected to come forward to buy May cargoes, but this week, buyers purchased H2-May cargoes. So either they maximising their purchases or they are actually still short. A weak outright price usually prompts buyers to lock in cargoes earlier than needed.