In the last week of July xxxx, the global naphtha market is experiencing a perfect storm of geopolitical disturbances, altered trade assets, and declining downstream demand. Throughout the key regions producing naphtha, refiners have seen them operate at high level; however, naphtha demand was tepid and falling ethylene margins and competition from other feedstocks like LPG were added pressure. To further compound the pressure, macro uncertainty and regional policy shifts have positioned naphtha traders into a landscape with turbulence and a bearish tone.
In the Americas, the change in dynamics in the naphtha trading space, which is still very volatile according to several sources, was represented in Gregory Galimberti—head of light fuels, which includes naphtha—as TotalEnergies’ significant fuel trading unit transitions to a hedge fund in this region. The U.S. refinery utilization still sat at xx.xx; however, straight-run naphtha supplies were...
