Japan’s naphtha imports fall in September

Japan's naphtha imports in September fell from a year earlier, pressured by weaker demand from the country's ethylene producers.

Naphtha imports in September totalled 1.4mn t (415,000 b/d), down by 11.3pc from a year earlier, according to customs data released today by the country's finance ministry. September imports were also lower by 6.7pc compared with a month earlier.

Imports from the UAE, Japan's top supplier for September, fell by 20.9pc from a year earlier to 268,031t. Saudi Arabian supplies dropped by 34.7pc to 104,373t, while imports from India fell by 52.6pc to 66,053t.

Imports from nearby South Korea fell by 13.6pc to 230,729t, while Malaysian supplies were down by 37.8pc to 11,409t. Imports from Russia and the US also dropped by 14.8pc to 100,169t and by 54.1pc to 45,818t respectively from a year earlier.

The falls outstripped sharp increases in naphtha supplies from other Middle East suppliers. Kuwait exported 118,270t to Japan for September delivery, more than double the previous year's 44,932t. Qatari supplies also more than doubled to 248,902t compared with 114,992t a year earlier. Imports from Bahrain rose by 17.6pc to 66,320t.

Japan imported 1.06mn t of naphtha as a feedstock for ethylene in September, down by 3.9pc from a year earlier, according to data from the ministry of economy, trade and industry (Meti). The September imports for ethylene accounted for around 78pc of Japan's total imports on a customs data basis.

But ethylene production in September rose by 12pc from a year earlier to 533,400t, the Meti data show. All ethylene crackers were operational last month. By comparison two crackers were closed for regular maintenance in September 2018.

Japan's import costs for naphtha averaged $502.16/t on a delivered basis in September, down by 25.1pc from a year earlier, according to customs data. This compared with import costs of $501/t for ethylene production based on finance ministry data.

Meti's survey asks Japanese ethylene producers to submit details of their purchases, which differs from customs data released by the finance ministry.

source: Argus Media