Asian naphtha demand is starting to recover as petrochemicals firms boost operating rates to take advantage of a revival in Chinese buying. South Korea and Japan, Asia's biggest petrochemical producers, both export heavily to China, where the petrochemicals are turned into finished plastics and textiles that are then sold to the West. Korea, which has now overtaken Japan as Asia's biggest naphtha consumer, recorded oil demand growth of 5.7% in April, essentially driven by a 12.2% increase in naphtha consumption, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). In Japan - where petrochemical producers were slower off the mark than their Korean counterparts in ramping up run rates - naphtha demand also grew in April for the first time since September 2007, the IEA said.
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