Asia’s naphtha crack fell on Monday amid persisting poor petrochemical demand, although hopes of tight supplies amid upcoming planned maintenance at Middle Eastern refineries limited the downside, traders and analysts said.
The refining profit margin for naphtha NAF-SIN-CRK plunged to a discount of $9.38 a metric ton over Brent crude, compared with $3.85 in the previous session.
At the trading window, 25,000 tons of naphtha changed hands after a gap of eight sessions. Energy trader Sietco bought first-half December naphtha, market participants said.
In gasoline markets, the crack GL92-SIN-CRK rose by about $1 to $4.45 a barrel over Brent crude on Monday but demand sentiment remained subdued due to high prices in several countries. Market players also expect supplies to rise this month.
LSEG Research expects China’s shipments of gasoline to rise to 1-1.1 million mt for October from 1.09 million mt last month, on ample export quota.
NEWS
– South Korea’s state-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) said on Monday it has signed an oil storage agreement with Saudi Arabia’s oil giant Aramco 2222.SE to reserve 5.3 million barrels for five years.
– A lack of biofuels demand in Asia-Pacific is making it hard for companies to justify pumping billions of dollars into projects in the region, an ExxonMobil executive said on Monday, despite growing decarbonisation efforts worldwide.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS O/AS
One naphtha deal, one gasoline trade.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Mohi Narayan; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)