Asia’s naphtha margin rose on Monday after prices of the light distillate declined in tandem with crude oil benchmarks.

The crack rose by about $6 to $110.95 per metric tonne over Brent crude. The backwardation between first-half April and first-half May naphtha prices widened by 75 cents to $9 per tonne.

In purchases, Taiwan’s CPC sought 35,000 tonnes of naphtha for discharge in April at the Kaohsiung port in a tender that closes on Tuesday, the company said in a tender document.

South Korean buyers GS Caltex and Lotte Chemical were heard seeking April naphtha last week, market participants said.

At the Singapore trading window, 25,000 tonnes of naphtha for loading during first-half May changed hands, they added.

NEWS

– Oil prices extended last week’s losses on Monday as investors awaited clarity on talks to end the war in Ukraine and weighed up the prospect of a resumption in crude exports from northern Iraq.

– Iraq is waiting for Turkey’s approval to restart the oil flows from the Iraqi Kurdistan region, the Iraqi oil minister said, adding that Kurdish oil exports will hopefully be ready in two days.

– Black Sea CPC Blend oil exports were revised up to 1.67 million barrels per day (bpd) in February’s programme from 1.42 million bpd in a previous version due to higher supply from Kazakh oilfields, two sources familiar with the loading plan said.
Source: Reuters