The Asian naphtha price hit a 9 month low of US$829.50/ton, in line with a fall in Brent crude, while its margin slipped to an 8-1/2 month low on slow demand and high stocks, as per Reuters. Markets have been quiet as most buyers are covered for May. “Overall spot demand has been slow as buyers are now getting the maximum nominations from their suppliers," said a trader. Maximum nomination is a term used by the industry to describe suppliers giving buyers the maximum quantities specified in their sales agreement. Under these contracts, sellers have the option to provide 5-10% above or below the agreed volumes depending on fundamentals.
YNCC is still running its 1.9 mln tpa cracking complex at about 90% since mid-March due to an explosion at a chemical unit owned by Daelim Industrial which takes in ethylene feedstock from the former. India's Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) has offered up to a total of 165,000 tons of naphtha for June to August lifting after skipping quarterly offers this year due to maintenance and firm domestic demand earlier. The tender closes on April 22, with bids to stay valid until April 23. BPCL has also offered 11,000 tons of spot naphtha for May 6-10 loading from Haldia port through a tender closing on April 17, with bids to stay valid until April 18.
Last week, India's Haldia Petrochemicals bought 50,000 tons of full-range naphtha at a premium of about US$35/ton to Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis for May 19-20 lifting from Kuwait in a rare move as the petrochemical maker does not usually buy spot cargoes.
16-Apr-13 
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