Naphtha market in Asia stays weak amid ample supply with high arbitrage inflows in June and July

16-Jun-17

The Asian naphtha market stayed weak on Wednesday as high arbitrage inflows in June and July are expected to keep supply ample, as per Reuters.
West-to-East naphtha supplies are expected to hit the highest for this year at 1.4 mln tons in June, an industry analyst said. July arbitrage volume is expected to stay strong at 1.3 mln ton

India's MRPL has sold 35,000 tons of naphtha for loading on July 14-16 at US$11/ton above Middle East quotes to Gunvor, traders said. The premium is US$3.50 lower than its previous deal for an early July loader. BPCL offered 33,000 tonnes of light aromatics naphtha for loading on July 9-11 in a tender to close on June 16. PTT offered 15,000 tons of reformate for loading on July 3-5 in a tender to close on June 16. Hanwha Total closed on Wednesday a tender to buy naphtha for second-half July loading although details of the award are yet to emerge. Japan's naphtha imports for the petrochemical sector rose to 1.12 mln tons in May, up 6% from the same month a year earlier, government figures showed. Ethylene production in May rose 5.8% from the same period a year earlier to 535,900 tons.