This past fortnight has seen a very much supported naphtha complex, in both regions. After initially falling behind, the East caught up with Europe in the middle of the two weeks, before further strength from Europe was witnessed.
The Apr NWE crack saw notable strength in the latter half of the fortnight, rising from close of -$7.60/bbl on Mar 05 to surpass the -$6/bbl mark come Mar 11. In a similar vein, MOPJ cracks also saw support from -$6.30/bbl to -$4.90/bbl in the same timeframe.
In regards to spreads, the strength has been even further exaggerated. The front NWE spread has grown everyday since Feb 20, with the exception of Mar 05, closing at a high of $21/mt on Mar 11. Similarly, although to a lesser extreme, the Apr/May MOPJ spread has seen an uptick of almost $5/mt in the past two weeks to close at $14/mt come Mar 11.
As a consequence, naphtha E/W has seen a mixed fortnight. After numerous weak days, it finally saw an extended period of support between Mar 05-08, however, since then prices have tailed off to trade at $14.75/mt on Mar 12.
