Naphtha prices start the week in Asia at a two-week high

18-Jan-11

Naphtha prices in Asia peaked to a two week high on the first day of the week, and cracks increased to a week's high, on healthy fundamentals, as per Reuters. Naphtha cracks surged nearly US$15.55 to US$154.78/ton premium, highest since Jan. 10. Japanese Maruzen has purchased 25,000 tons of naphtha for H2-February arrival at premiums of around US$6/ton to Japan spot quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis. A power outage at South Korea’s Yeosu has not had any major impact on the crackers' operations going forward, but is estimated to have caused some damage to some furnaces. The temporary shutdown due to the power outage had also forced South Korea's No. 2 refiner GS Caltex to temporarily shut its refinery with a 94,000 bpd residue fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC). Gasoline cracks also rose to their highest in a week on strong European markets, as gasoline barge prices in NW Europe rose to a 28 month high as a 5 week maintenance commenced at Exxon's 115,000 bpd Fos-sur-mer refinery.