This was in spite of supply tightness in Asia which resulted in Taiwan's CPC fetching a comparatively high premium of over $2 a barrel to Singapore quotes on a free-on-board basis for a gasoline cargo scheduled for April loading. Gasoline inventories in the United States were seen falling, with analysts expecting a 2.7 million barrel drawdown on stocks last week, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday.
Asian's naphtha crack eased to a two-session low of $48.60 a tonne. Formosa Petrochemical Corp, Asia's top naphtha importer, was looking to buy open-specification naphtha and heavy grade naphtha for April 16 to 30 arrival at Mailiao through two separate tenders closing on March 13. These purchase tenders had, however, failed to lift sentiment as South Korea's naphtha demand could be affected by cracker maintenance taking place in Daesan this month.