Global naphtha markets saw significant divergence at the end of November 2025 as the strength of the US market compared to the relatively steady to weaker markets of Asia and Europe. The divergence arose from different shifts in crude oil fundamentals, gasoline blending, refinery economics, and petrochemicals that affected markets since naphtha is produced directly from crude distillation and is thus affected quickly by changes in feedstock inventories, costs of crude oil, and refinery operating schedules. The US market became tighter due to increasing blending requirements from the gasoline pool, low inventories of crude oil, and an increase in seasonal requirements for lighter grades. However, high refinery utilization and poor global margins in petrochemicals limited export interest. Asia had tight physical supply, but had a weaker downstream demand, while Europe remained subdued due to large inventories of naphtha available. Geopolitical risk and changes in crude oil fundamentals also complicated the occurrence of these trends.
