Robust demand props BPCL premiums by 10% on May naphtha cargo

30-Apr-12

Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) has sold a naphtha cargo to Marubeni at about US$45/ton above Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis- a near 10% hike triggered by strong demand for May cargoes, as per Reuters. BPCL, which sold the 35,000 ton cargo for May 23-25 loading from Mumbai late, had previously fetched US$41/ton premiums from PetroChina for a cargo scheduled for April 16-18 loading from Mumbai. Asian naptha markets have been shrouded by persistent tight supplies since the beginning of 2012 due to a combination of factors which include refinery maintenance, plant outages and strong demand.