Naphtha price in Asia rose to a four-session high of US$952/ton on Tuesday, and intermonth premium reached its highest in seven sessions of US$12.50/ton, as healthy demand led to tight supplies, as per Reuters. The intermonth premium refers to the difference between front-month H1-November and H1-December.
Demand has come from Asia's top naphtha buyer- Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corp. Formosa is seeking at least 25,000 tons of open-spec naphtha for H1-November delivery, just a day after it was looking for heavy naphtha for the same period. LG Chem has likely bought two 25,000 ton cargoes, one of which was for delivery to Daesan at premiums of about US$11/ton to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis. Another cargo was for delivery to Yeosu at premiums of about US$10.50/ton to the same formula.
The market is expected to get stronger as fewer Western cargoes are coming to Asia next month (vs September) and export volumes from India are unstable. Export volumes from India have been fluctuating over the past few months, making it increasingly difficult to rely on it for stable spot supplies.
27-Sep-12 
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