Asian naphtha markets softened further amid a slight pickup in spot activity on the trading window, though some buyers were still in the market for their regular requirements.
Refining margins (NAF-SIN-CRK) declined for a third straight session to a near two-month low of around $82 per ton.
Discussions remained at slight premiums to CFR Japan price quotes, slightly stable-to-soft from November levels given slightly more cautious buying interest.
Buyers cited narrower production spreads for several petrochemical derivatives as a key reason to be cautious, with timespreads mostly narrowing in the past week to reflect this.
Separately, some South Korean buyers have also started seeking second-half November LPG deliveries, with several traders saying that it could be due to widening naphtha-LPG spreads from a week earlier.
On the gasoline front, window spot activity remained thin – similar to the previous trading sessions – as traders mulled forward supply-demand fundamentals.
Timespreads, however, barely moved from the previous trading session, with refining margins barely moving at slightly $13 a barrel.
Talks of some resumption gasoline production by this weekend at Nigeria’s Dangote refinery also surfaced in the market, weighing slightly on trading sentiment.
NEWS
– Some Indian refiners are preparing to cut Russian oil imports, with expectations of a gradual reduction, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, with the U.S. pressuring New Delhi to stop buying Russian crude to help end the war in Ukraine.
– Britain targeted Russia’s two largest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, and 44 shadow fleet tankers on Wednesday in what it described as a new bid to tighten energy sanctions and choke off Kremlin revenues.
INVENTORIES
– U.S. crude and gasoline stocks rose while distillate inventories fell last week, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS
– One naphtha deal, no gasoline deal
Source: Reuters
