Sinochem sells first ever naphtha cargo for export at steep discount

05-Jul-16

China's Sinochem has sold its first ever naphtha cargo for export from Huangdao, Shandong, at a discount of about US$80/ton to Japan quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, as per traders in Reuters. This is one of the steepest discounts seen this year and can be attributed to the specification of the cargo which was not suitable for cracking into petrochemicals.

The 18,000 ton cargo for July loading was sold to a European trading house and it would likely be used as a blending component in the gasoline pool. However, overall naphtha sentiment has been weak, dragged down by a persistent glut despite low levels of cargoes coming to Asia from the West, including Europe and the Mediterranean.