China's West Pacific Petrochemical Corp (WEPEC) sold a naphtha cargo at a premium of about $32 a tonne to Japan quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, possibly a record deal for the refiner, traders said on Thursday.
The 28,000-30,000 tonne open-spec naphtha cargo, scheduled for May 24-26 loading from the port of Dalian in northeast China, could have been bought by Gunvor, traders added, but this could not be confirmed.
Gunvor had on Tuesday bought 35,000 tonnes of naphtha from India's ONGC for May 23-24 loading from Hazira port in western India at premiums of $49 a tonne to Middle East quotes on an FOB basis.
Prompt supplies have been tight as recent refinery outages in Egypt and India had caused naphtha shipments to be delayed.
Supplies were already limited due to refinery maintenance in India and Saudi Arabia.
"There could be some short coverings here and there," said a North Asian trader as he explained why some traders were willing to pay for spot cargoes.
WEPEC's premiums were similar to what South Korea's S-Oil had fetched this week for 33,000 tonnes of light naphtha sold to Trafigura for May 25-31 loading from Onsan.
The 28,000-30,000 tonne open-spec naphtha cargo, scheduled for May 24-26 loading from the port of Dalian in northeast China, could have been bought by Gunvor, traders added, but this could not be confirmed.
Gunvor had on Tuesday bought 35,000 tonnes of naphtha from India's ONGC for May 23-24 loading from Hazira port in western India at premiums of $49 a tonne to Middle East quotes on an FOB basis.
Prompt supplies have been tight as recent refinery outages in Egypt and India had caused naphtha shipments to be delayed.
Supplies were already limited due to refinery maintenance in India and Saudi Arabia.
"There could be some short coverings here and there," said a North Asian trader as he explained why some traders were willing to pay for spot cargoes.
WEPEC's premiums were similar to what South Korea's S-Oil had fetched this week for 33,000 tonnes of light naphtha sold to Trafigura for May 25-31 loading from Onsan.