Recovery in naphtha prices squeezes European cracking margins

摘要

As gasoline demand has been recovering due to coronavirus-related lockdowns being eased,feedstock naphtha prices have risen,which has caused the contract NWE cracking margin to average €575 ($627)/mt in May,a 32% decrease from April.At the same time,margins in the spot market were 59.7% lower on the month at €205 ($223)/mt.These developments come as S&P Global Platts reports that spot CIF NWE naphtha prices have averaged $214/mt in May,a 55% increase on the month.Naphtha demand is expected to be boosted by demand from the gasoline and PC market.Meanwhile,ethylene supplies have tightened somewhat because of unplanned outages,and the supply situation will likely persist into June.