SINGAPORE: Asia’s naphtha crack recovered 1.84 percent to reach a two-session high of $94 a tonne on Wednesday, supported by recent demand and expectations of slightly lower cargoes arriving next month from the West, including Europe.

Naphtha arriving in July were estimated at 1.2 million-1.3 million tonnes, said a weekly report by Thomson Reuters Oil Research.

Traders expect cargoes arriving in August to be slightly lower although the final numbers could change as there is still time to charter ships.

India’s Reliance Industries sold 75,000 tonnes of naphtha for Aug. 13-15 loading from Sikka to a Western trader at premiums of low $20s a tonne to Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis.

It had previously sold 55,000 tonnes of naphtha for Aug. 2-3 loading from the same port but details were not immediately clear although traders said the cargo went to Vitol.

These could not be confirmed as sellers and buyers do not comment on their deals.

Separately, BPCL sold 30,000 tonnes of naphtha for Aug. 13-15 loading from Mumbai to Gunvor at premiums of about $14 a tonne to its own price formula on a FOB basis.

Nayara Energy had also sold naphtha for August loading to Aramco, traders said.

But it was unclear if Aramco had bought one of the two cargoes offered or both.

Nayara had offered a heavy grade and open-spec grade cargo for Aug. 6-10 and Aug. 14-18 loading from Vadinar respectively.

Nayara had previously sold up to 35,000 tonnes of naphtha to Aramco for July loading at premiums of $24 to $25.

Asia’s gasoline crack was at a five-session low of $5.50 a barrel after it hit its highest in nearly a month at over $6 on Monday as high supplies capped gains.

China’s gasoline output for instance was up 4.9 percent in June from a year ago at 11.43 million tonnes.—Reuters