off-the-wire

Asia Naphtha/Gasoline-Naphtha margin climbs to highest in over 8 months

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters
NEW DELHI, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Asia's naphtha refining profit margin jumped on Thursday hitting the highest since May 2022 amid spot purchase interest from South Korean buyers. The crack rose by $19.32 to $85.20 a tonne over Brent crude, while the backwardation in the market widened by $3 to $10.25 per tonne. South Korean buyers Lotte Chem and YNCC were active in the market for March delivery cargoes, sources said. GS Caltex sought March supplies via a tender. There were no trades for naphtha at the Singapore window, while energy trade Unipec sold 150,000 barrels of motor fuel, market participants said. The gasoline crack, on the other hand, declined by 54 cents to $12.46 a barrel amid rising inventories at key trading hubs. INVENTORIES Singapore's light distillate inventories climbed 1.282 million barrels to more than five-month high of 17.156 million barrels in the week to Feb. 1, Enterprise Singapore data showed. U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 2.6 million barrels in the week to 234.6 million barrels, governemnt data showed, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a rise of 1.4 million barrels. NEWS - Gasoline consumption and imports in Indonesia, Asia's largest importer of the motor fuel, could hit records this year as the nation recovers from COVID-related travel curbs, although growth is expected to slow slightly along with its economy. - South Korean refiner Hyundai Oilbank plans to shut down one of its two crude distillation units (CDU) and one residue fluidiser catalytic cracker (RFCC) in August. SINGAPORE CASH DEALS Three gasoline deals, no naphtha trades. PRICES
CASH ($/T) ASIA CLOSE Change % Prev RIC Change Close
OSN Naphtha CFR 708.00 -2.50 -0.35 710.50 <NAF-1H-TY Japan M1 O> OSN Naphtha CFR 697.75 -5.50 -0.78 703.25 <NAF-2H-TY Japan M2 O> OSN Naphtha Diff 10.25 3.00 41.38 7.25 <NAF-TYO-D IF> Naphtha Netback FOB 76.67 -0.27 -0.35 76.94 Sing
Naphtha Diff FOB 0.40 0.00 0.00 0.40 <NAF-SIN-D Sing IF> Naphtha-Brent Crack 85.20 19.32 29.33 65.88 <NAF-SIN-C RK> Gasoline 97 103.70 -3.45 -3.22 107.15 Gasoline 95 98.70 -3.37 -3.30 102.07 Gasoline 92 95.50 -3.45 -3.49 98.95 Gasoline crack 12.46 -0.54 -4.15 13.00 <GL92-SIN- CRK>
For a list of derivatives prices, including
margins, please double click the RICs below.
Brent M1 <BRENTSGMc


1>
Naphtha CFR Japan M1 <NACFRJPSW


Mc1>
Naphtha CFR Japan <NACFRJPSD
M1/M2 Mc1>
Naphtha CFR Japan M2 <NACFRJPSW


Mc2>
Naphtha Japan-Sing <NAPTC4SPD
Netback M1 Mc1>
Naphtha Japan-Sing <NAPTC4SPD
Netback M2 Mc2>
Naphtha FOB Sing M1 <NAFOBSGSW


Mc1>
Naphtha FOB Sing <NAFOBSGSD
M1/M2 Mc1>
Naphtha FOB Sing M2 <NAFOBSGSW


Mc2>
Naphtha Cracks M1 <NACFRJPCK


Mc1>
East-West Naphtha M1 <NAPJPEWMc


1>
East-West Naphtha M2 <NAPJPEWMc


2>
NWE Naphtha M1 <NAPCNWEAM


c1>
NWE Naphtha M1/M2 <NAPCNWEAS


Mc1>
NWE Naphtha M2 <NAPCNWEAM


c2>
Crack NWE <NAPCNWEAC
Naphtha-Brent M1 Mc1>
Crack NWE <NAPCNWEAC
Naphtha-Brent M2 Mc2>

*Sing refers to
Singapore
(Reporting by Mohi Narayan; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

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