| Kippreport.com

Asia naphtha-Saudi Aramco sells Ras Tanura spot

June 5, 2012 11:33 by Reuters

Saudi Aramco has sold around 55,000 tonnes of June naphtha at about $25 a tonne above Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, down nearly 20-25 percent from a previous spot sale in reflection of slower demand, traders said on Tuesday.

The A310 grade naphtha cargo, scheduled for June 11-13 loading from Ras Tanura, is the second spot cargo Asia’s top naphtha supplier sold this year as a previous maintenance had choked off spot supplies from the refinery.

It had on May 15 sold similar volumes for end May loading at premiums of $31-$33 a tonne.

It has also recently tied up term supplies for second-half 2012 lifting at record premiums of $25-$33 a tonne to its own price formula.

“Aramco has cut their term volumes as they would like to do more spot business, especially with their trading arm up and running,” a trader said.

Others said the high term premiums have also persuaded some of its buyers to reduce the volumes they were to lift.

(Reporting by Seng Li Peng; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Tags: Asia Naphtha, Middle East, Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco