Window activity thins; markets stay firm

About this update from Lotte Chemical Corporation

Asia's naphtha markets were buoyed by some firm buying activity, though supply outlooks stayed mixed across the board, while gasoline markets remained robust.On the buying front, Indonesia's Pertamina is seeking for October-delivery naphtha to Tuban via spot tender that closes Wednesday with validity till Friday. Previously, Lotte Chemical bought two cargoes for second-half September and first-half October delivery at very slight premiums to CFR Japan quotes. Some spot discussions were also underway for October deliveries in southeast Asia, with at least one buyer likely to confirm purchases in the next few days. However, scheduled maintenance at some steam cracker units in South Korea is likely to limit overall demand in October, some analysts say. Naphtha refining margins (NAF-SIN-CRK) eased slightly to around $82 per ton. Meanwhile, South Korea's petrochemical majors are expecting to hold a meeting with local government officials on possible restructuring plans tomorrow, some traders say. Similar to naphtha, gasoline markets were well supported by firm market fundamentals as regional buying interest was upbeat from some prolonged production outages. Gasoline refining margins (GL92-SIN-CRK) fell slightly below $11 per barrel though supply-demand fundamentals remained strong.On the selling front, Qatar Energy is offering octane-95 gasoline for first-half September via a spot tender that closes today with same-day validity. India's MRPL sold around 35,000 tons of octane-95 gasoline loading in end-August at premiums of around $2 to Arab Gulf price quotes. NEWS- Indonesia plans to build a network of small modular refineries to process U.S. and domestic oil, aiming to reduce gasoline imports, but analysts warn the switch in strategy from large-scale refining facilities could prove uneconomical.- Brazil's Petrobras cannot afford to miss out on the opportunity to sell liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), or cooking gas, as it is a high-margin business, CEO Magda Chambriard said on Monday.REFINERY NEWS - Russia's Syzran oil refinery suspended production and crude intake after a Ukrainian drone attack last Friday, two industry sources said on Monday.SINGAPORE CASH DEALS - No deals for both fuelsPRICESCASHASIA CLOSEChangePrev CloseRICOSN Naphtha CFR Japan M1 ($/mt)577.000.00577.00(NAF-1H-TYO)OSN Naphtha CFR Japan M2 ($/mt)573.500.00573.50(NAF-2H-TYO)OSN Naphtha Diff ($...

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