CFR Far East

In the CFR Far East market, prices for Japan and China delivery soared since the situations in the Middle East were worsening and crude oil prices jumped. Japan Index significantly increased by $120.50/mt to $745.00/mt for propane and butane. China Index moved up by $136.00/nt to $777.00/mt for propane and $772.00/mt for butane. In the CFR Japan market, sellers refrained from showing offers for April delivery and supply/demand was tighter. Operators of a propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant was cautious about spot purchase due to high import costs. They reduced operation rates or considered carrying out a maintenance. Later last week, sellers having US-origin cargoes emerged in the market and several cargoes for second-half April through second-half May delivery were traded. However, prices were sharply up from the last week.

FOB Middle East

For Middle East loading, discussion levels for 44,000mt 50:50 cargoes for April loading were unchanged. Tensions in the Middle East effectively halted discussions for Middle East loading. Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for attacks by the US and Israel. Iran also attacked energy facilities in surrounding countries in the Middle East and Qatar Energy was said to have halted production of LNG and other associated products due to military attacks. Under this situation, concerns emerged that recovery of Saudi Aramco's LPG export facility in Juaymah, damaged on Feb 23, might be delayed.

Asia Pressurized Market

The Asian pressurized LPG market significantly surged from the previous week. This was driven by a sharp decline in supply due to heightened tensions in the Middle East. Particularly in Vietnam, supply/demand became tight. Vietnamese suppliers declared force majeure as they were unable to secure supplies to the domestic market. Following PetroVietnam Gas, Hyosung Vietnam Chemical and TotalEnergies Vietnam also notified customers in southern Vietnam that their supply would be delayed or in shortage from Mar 5.