SINGAPORE, Aug 8 (Reuters) - The Asian naphtha crack slipped to $126.68 a tonne on Friday after a brief marginal hike in the previous session, with supplies expected to stay high through September. Spot prices in South Korea flipped into discount on Thursday for the first time since October after LG Chem secured a second-half September naphtha cargo at a discount of 50 cents a tonne to Japan quotes on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis. Traders added that LG Chem may have paid a premium of $3.50 a tonne to Japan quotes on a C&F basis for cargoes delivering in October, although this could not be confirmed. "It's been a long time since we saw a deal done at discount levels in South Korea. The last one was seen in fourth quarter 2013," a Singapore-based trader said. The petrochemical firm was looking to buy for September to December but traders said LG Chem bought mostly September and October cargoes due to a lack of offers for those beyond October delivery. Rival company YNCC has wrapped up talks to buy naphtha for a six-month period starting in October at a premium of $5.00 to $5.50 a tonne to Japan quotes on a C&F basis. It has a 12-month contract expiring in March 2015 for about 400,000 tonnes, at a premium of about $5.00 a tonne to Japan quotes on a C&F basis. Taiwan's CPC may have paid a premium of $1 to Japan quotes on a C&F basis for full-range naphtha scheduled for Aug. 25 to Sept. 25 arrival at Kaohsiung, eight times lower than what it paid in early July for a similar grade meant for Aug. 1-25 delivery. NAPHTHA TENDERS: Kuwait Petroleum Corp has offered 50,000 tonnes of naphtha for September loading, bringing its spot exports for next month to 124,000 tonnes, Reuters data showed.NAP/TENDA This made it one of Kuwait's highest volumes offered in a single month even though the market is saddled with supplies.ID:L4N0QE532 GASOLINE CRACKS: The Asian gasoline crack rose to a four-session high of $4.39 a barrel, mirroring stronger sentiment in the West following a surprise fall in U.S. stockpiles. U.S. gasoline stocks fell 4.4 million barrels last week, data from the Energy Information Administration showed, versus analysts' expectations of a 300,000-barrel gain in a Reuters poll.EIA/S Possible supply disruptions could hit Hawaii, depending on a pair of hurricanes that were approaching. Par Petroleum Corp and Chevron Corp were each securing their plants on the island of Oahu. The former, which supplies 31 gasoline stations on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island, said on Thursday that the plant's docks were shut for the storm.ID:nL2N0QE06Q SINGAPORE CASH DEALS: Naphtha trades were absent for the third straight day. PetroChina sold two 92-octane gasoline cargoes to Vitol for Aug. 23-27 loading from Singapore at $110.60 a barrel each. SK Energy sold a 92-octane gasoline cargo for Sept. 1-5 loading from Singapore to Hendon Energy at $110.90 a barrel. LIGHT DISTILLATES CASH ($/T) ASIA CLOSE Change % Change Prev Close RIC OSN Naphtha CFR Japan M1 924.00 11.00 1.20 913.00NAF-1H-TYO OSN Naphtha CFR Japan M2 922.00 12.00 1.32 910.00NAF-2H-TYO OSN Naphtha Diff 2.00 -1.00 -33.33 3.00NAF-TYO-DIF Naphtha Netback FOB Sing 100.65 1.23 1.24 99.42NAF-SIN Naphtha Diff FOB Sing 0.40 -0.12 -23.08 0.52NAF-SIN-DIF Naphtha-Brent Crack 126.68 -1.15 -0.90 127.83NAF-SIN-CRK Gasoline 97 114.35 1.95 1.73 112.40GL97-SIN Gasoline 95 113.41 1.91 1.71 111.50GL95-SIN Gasoline 92 110.70 1.80 1.65 108.90GL92-SIN Gasoline crack 4.39 0.18 4.28 4.21GL92-SIN-CRK For a list of derivatives prices, including margins, please double click the RICs below. Brent M1BRENTSGMc1 Naphtha CFR Japan M1NACFRJPSWMc1 Naphtha CFR Japan M1/M2NACFRJPSDMc1 Naphtha CFR Japan M2NACFRJPSWMc2 Naphtha Japan-Sing Netback M1NAPTC4SPDMc1 Naphtha Japan-Sing Netback M2NAPTC4SPDMc2 Naphtha FOB Sing M1NAFOBSGSWMc1 Naphtha FOB Sing M1/M2NAFOBSGSDMc1 Naphtha FOB Sing M2NAFOBSGSWMc2 Naphtha Cracks M1NACFRJPCKMc1 East-West Naphtha M1NAPJPEWMc1 East-West Naphtha M2NAPJPEWMc2 NWE Naphtha M1NAPCNWEAMc1 NWE Naphtha M1/M2NAPCNWEASMc1 NWE Naphtha M2NAPCNWEAMc2 Crack NWE Naphtha-Brent M1NAPCNWEACMc1 Crack NWE Naphtha-Brent M2NAPCNWEACMc2 *Sing refers to Singapore (Reporting by Seng Li Peng; Editing by Dale Hudson) ((lipeng.seng@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6870 3086; Reuters Messaging: lipeng.seng.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: MARKETS ASIA/GASOLINE NAPHTHA
Asia Naphtha/Gasoline-Naphtha crack slips, Kuwait supply seen higher
The Asian naphtha crack slipped to USD 126.68 a tonne on Friday after a brief marginal hike in the previous session, with supplies expected to stay high through September.
August 8, 2014
