CFR Far East

The CFR Far East market gained last week due to tight supply/demand. The Rim Asia Index rose to $566.00/mt for propane and $611.00/mt for butane as of Dec 19, up $11.00/mt and $42.25/mt respectively from Dec 13. For propane, several traders were active in spot purchase to cover their short positions. On the other hand, sellers for pure propane were apparently concerned about delay in arrival due to foggy weather in the USGC and seemed reluctant to engage in talks. For butane, early last week, talks on an CFR Japan basis were reported to be at a premium in the $90's/mt to the January CP. Apart from that, one North Sea producer had interest in procuring 50:50 22,000mt cargo for non-US origin.　

FOB Middle East

The January CP forecast was revised up to $505-510/mt for propane and $530-$535/mt for butane owing to tighter supply/demand in the CFR Far East market. Further, spot demand for FOB Middle East cargoes also emerged. In particular, buying interest for even-split cargoes was firm. Reflecting this and increasing demand for similar cargoes from Southeast Asia, the spread between butane and propane in the expected January CP enlarged to $25/mt. 　

Asia Pressurized Market

For FOB South China cargoes, sellers raised their offers to a premium in the low $70's/mt to the January CP. This was due to a considerable increase in CFR China prices for refrigerated cargoes in recent days and booming domestic sales in China. In the CFR Vietnam market, some traders apparently could sell January delivery to Haiphong at a premium in the mid $100's/mt to the January CP, similar levels to term contract prices for 2020.　

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