CFR Far East

In the CFR Far East market last week, prices moved up along with strong buying interest. As of Dec 11, the Japan Index for propane gained by $36.50/mt from the previous week to $571.00/mt for propane and $626.00/mt for butane. The China Index also went up to $612.00/mt for propane and $602.00/mt for butane. For Japan, two importers, one Japanese trading companies and European traders were looking for pure propane cargoes for January delivery. In addition, since supply from the Middle East was limited, Chinese players carried out a buy tender for cargoes of non-US and US origin both. On the other hand, several cargoes to be loaded in the US in December were traded into Europe and there were players taking their cargoes from the US to Asia via the Cape of Good Hope. Under this situation, supply/demand was tighter.

FOB Middle East

In the Middle East, the market was upward trend as supply/demand was tight. Several European traders and Middle Eastern traders had spot demand for 44,000mt 50:50 cargoes for January loading and Indian importer carried out a buy tender for an even-split cargo for January loading as well. As for supply, two Middle Eastern gas producers released their acceptances for January loading, but loading were reported to be delayed. One Kuwaiti gas supplier apparently requested to postpone the loading schedules in February. Some market sources believed that it might be difficult for buyers to procure an even-split cargo at a premium of $40/mt to the January CP at least.

Asia Pressurized Market

For South China loading, sellers were hardly observed. As procuring costs were high, importers of refrigerated cargoes were not actively offering. In Malaysia, a sell tender issued by Pengerang Refining and Petrochemical (PRefChem), was reportedly awarded. Through the tender that had closed on Dec 11, the company tried to sell a 1,800mt of LPG cargo for Dec 16-17 loading from Pengerang. Information was heard that one major supplier in Malaysia won. The supplier seemed to use the cargo for domestic supply since supply in the country appeared to be tight.