Naphtha margins at two month high in Asia

17-Jul-12

Naphtha price in Asia climbed by a dollar at the beginning of the week to hover around a 1-1/2-month high of US$845/ton amid strong Brent crude, while margins hit a two-month high of US$84.9/ton premium, supported by improved petrochemical demand, as per Reuters. Demand has been restored in the region with increase in run rates at major petrochemical plants- Malaysia-based Titan, Thailand's IRPC and South Korea's YNCC. Players expect that improved demand is likely to last another two-four weeks because some traders like to build up stocks before the fourth-quarter. The weeks leading up to Christmas season usually sees lower demand as manufacturers would have already completed all their pre-festive orders.