Taiwan's Formosa seeks 75,000t naphtha for H2 May

12 April 2010 04:12  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Taiwan’s Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPC) has issued a tender to buy 75,000 tonnes of naphtha for second-half May delivery due to decent petrochemical margins, contrary to earlier expectations that the company would skip spot naphtha purchases for the period, traders said on Monday.

The tender will close later on Monday, they said.

“Margins are decent,” said one trader.

Asian ethylene was valued in the low-$1,200/tonne (€888/tonne) levels, while naphtha was quoted at $750/tonne, traders said.

Traders had initially thought Formosa would skip naphtha purchases for delivery in the second half of May, after it had already secured 200,000-250,000 tonnes of first-half May spot naphtha at premiums of $3.50-4.50/tonne (€2.63-3.38/tonne) to Japan cost and freight (CFR) quotes.

($1 = €0.74)

To discuss issues facing the chemical industry go to ICIS connect

By: Felicia Loo

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly