Korean naphtha imports hit 20-month high in September

Korean naphtha imports hit 20-month high in September

Singapore, 20 October (Argus) — South Korea's naphtha imports hit a 20-month high in September amid firm demand for petrochemical products and healthy cracker cash margins.

South Korea imported 821,706 b/d of naphtha in September, the highest since 842,774 b/d in January 2020, according to GTT data. The September imports were also up by 7.6pc from 763,418 b/d in August and by 42.6pc from 576,065 b/d a year earlier. Russia was the top supplier to South Korea at 148,687 b/d, followed by the UAE at 112,435 b/d.

Refiners and petrochemical producers in South Korea bought a total of at least 500,000t of spot naphtha for September delivery, according to Argus data. The uptick in naphtha imports could be a result of firm demand for the feedstock, alongside strong global demand for petrochemical products.