Kuwait Petroleum sells 24,000t naphtha for 1-2 August

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) has sold by tender 24,000 tonnes of light naphtha for loading on 1–2 August, at parity, traders said on Friday.

“This is not surprising. Many market players placed bids at discounts because sentiment is very weak,” said a trader, who added that a recent armada of Middle East imports had hurt the market.

In its last tender, KPC sold 50,000 tonnes of full-range naphtha and 24,000 tonnes of light naphtha, at a premium of around $9/tonne (€7.11/tonne) to Middle East quotes FOB (free on board), for loading on 13-20 July.

Reflecting the weak market, the spread between second-half August and September naphtha contracts slumped, with the contango widening to $4/tonne from $2/tonne early this week, in the wake of an explosion at Formosa Petrochemical Corp’s (FPC) 700,000 tonne/year cracker, ICIS data showed.

($1 = €0.79)