Asia naphtha opens $23/t higher on firm crude

03 July 2008 05:56  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Asian naphtha prices opened $23/tonne higher early Thursday as western crude markets touched record highs again, industry sources said.

Second half August indications were pegged at $1,241.50-1,244.50/tonne CFR (cost and freight) Japan, first half September at $1,235.50-1,238.50/tonne and second half September at $1,232-1,235/tonne.

Late Wednesday, naphtha broke another new record high after breaching the $1,200/tonne mark early this week, as BP bought two first half September contracts from Cargill and Vitol at $1,214/tonne CFR (cost and freight) Japan.

Asian naphtha has been registering successive record highs since last week with a deal done early this week at $1,206/tonne between Vitol and BP.

Asian naphtha prices were up 13.02% versus gains of 11.32% in the Brent crude markets since early June.

Crude prices have also been recording continuous gains with crude hitting a record intraday high at $144.32/bbl during after-hours electronic trading.

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By: Desmond Chia
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