SINGAPORE, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Asia's naphtha refining margins climbed for the third straight session on Tuesday to hit their highest in nearly a week, buoyed by softer crude oil prices and firmer demand prospects for the petrochemical feedstock.
The crack NAF-SIN-CRK jumped by $5.87 from the previous session to $82.15 on the day, its strongest level since Jan. 15.
For the week of Jan. 13-17, the spot market for CFR Japan cargoes was flooded with buyers keen on arrivals slated for the second-half of March with few sellers to match, LSEG Oil Research said in a report.
While naphtha import volumes to top petrochemical producer China remain low for now, the import levels are expected to increase significantly towards the end of the first quarter when two new independent Chinese crackers begin operations, LSEG said.
The crackers - Wanhua Petrochemical's 1.2 million mt/year refiner in Yantai and ExxonMobil's 1.6 million mt/year site in Huizhou - are not upstream-integrated, meaning all their naphtha requirements will have to be fulfilled by external orders, resulting in higher naphtha imports, according to LSEG.
Meanwhile, in the gasoline market, refining margins GL92-SIN-CRK extended their decline to a fourth session on Tuesday amid ample regional stockpiles, slipping $0.24 from the previous day to $3.68. The crack last fell below that level on Oct. 25.
NEWS
Oil prices fell on Tuesday as investors assessed U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to apply new tariffs later than expected while boosting oil and gas production in the United States. O/R
Trump on Monday laid out a sweeping plan to maximise U.S. oil and gas output, including declaring a national energy emergency to speed permitting, rolling back environmental protections, and withdrawing the U.S. from an international pact to fight climate change.
The president also promised to refill U.S. strategic reserves, and said his administration would "probably" stop buying oil from Venezuela.
In China, reliance on oil imports is projected to remain at around 70% in the country's 2026-2030 five-year plan, according to an outlook released by state-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) on Tuesday.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS O/AS
One gasoline trade; one naphtha trade.
PRICES
CASH | ASIA CLOSE | Change | Prev Close | RIC |
OSN Naphtha CFR Japan M1 ($/mt) | 680.25 | -6.25 | 686.50 | NAF-1H-TYO |
OSN Naphtha CFR Japan M2 ($/mt) | 675.00 | -6.25 | 681.25 | NAF-2H-TYO |
OSN Naphtha Diff ($/mt) | 5.25 | 0.00 | 5.25 | NAF-TYO-DIF |
Naphtha Netback FOB Sing ($/bbl) | 73.58 | -0.69 | 74.28 | NAF-SIN |
Naphtha-Brent Crack ($/mt) | 86.63 | 9.36 | 77.28 | NAF-SIN-CRK |
Gasoline 97 ($/bbl) | 86.30 | -3.57 | 89.87 | GL97-SIN |
Gasoline 95 ($/bbl) | 84.45 | -5.15 | 89.60 | GL95-SIN |
Gasoline 92 ($/bbl) | 3.92 | -83.13 | 87.05 | GL92-SIN |
Gasoline crack ($/bbl) | 5.82 | 0.00 | 5.82 | GL92-SIN-CRK |
For a list of derivatives prices, including margins, please double click the RICs below. | ||||
Brent M1 | BRENTSGMc1 | |||
Naphtha CFR Japan M1 | NACFRJPSWMc1 | |||
Naphtha CFR Japan M1/M2 | NACFRJPSDMc1 | |||
Naphtha CFR Japan M2 | NACFRJPSWMc2 | |||
Naphtha Japan-Sing Netback M1 | NAPTC4SPDMc1 | |||
Naphtha Japan-Sing Netback M2 | NAPTC4SPDMc2 | |||
Naphtha FOB Sing M1 | NAFOBSGSWMc1 | |||
Naphtha FOB Sing M1/M2 | NAFOBSGSDMc1 | |||
Naphtha FOB Sing M2 | NAFOBSGSWMc2 | |||
Naphtha Cracks M1 | NACFRJPCKMc1 | |||
East-West Naphtha M1 | NAPJPEWMc1 | |||
East-West Naphtha M2 | NAPJPEWMc2 | |||
NWE Naphtha M1 | NAPCNWEAMc1 | |||
NWE Naphtha M1/M2 | NAPCNWEASMc1 | |||
NWE Naphtha M2 | NAPCNWEAMc2 | |||
Crack NWE Naphtha-Brent M1 | NAPCNWEACMc1 | |||
Crack NWE Naphtha-Brent M2 | NAPCNWEACMc2 | |||
*Sing refers to Singapore | ||||
(Reporting by Gabrielle Ng)
((gabrielle.ng@thomsonreuters.com;))
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