Asia naphtha sold at $1,002/t record on crude gains

06 May 2008 12:46  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Asian naphtha prices traded at a new record high of $1,002/tonne boosted by rising crude values, according to industry sources on Tuesday.

A first-half July contract traded at $1,002/tonne CFR (cost and freight) Japan Tuesday as Glencore sold to Sempra, up from a deal done at $975/tonne CFR Japan late on Monday between the same parties.

Second-half June prices closed Tuesday at $1,000-1,001/tonne CFR Japan. First-half July was notionally pegged at $998.50-999.50/tonne CFR Japan and second-half July was at $997-998/tonne CFR Japan.

Most market players in Japan were out due to holidays.

The second-half June contract had hit a record high near the $1,000/tonne (cost and freight) CFR Japan mark early last week, after a string of record high prices due to simmering crude values the previous week.

Gains in the naphtha markets had been strong due to improving downstream cracker margins, but price gains still lagged gains in the crude oil markets. Asian naphtha prices gained 5.87% versus gains of 6.12% in Brent crude since mid-April.

By: Desmond Chia
+65 6780 4359

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