CFR Far East

The CFR Far East market gained last week due to strong crude prices early last week. Rim Asia Index for propane and butane was at $872.00/mt and $857.00/mt respectively as of Nov 4, up $13.25/mt from Oct 29. Japanese and Korean importers seemed to have relatively high stocks at the moment and were not observed in the spot market. On the other hand, with congestions worsening at the Panama Canal, vessels had to wait for 10-11 days to pass through on a South-bound route. Sellers were checking arrival schedules for their cargoes and refrained from entering discussions. Under this situation, discussion levels for 23,000mt propane cargoes for first-half December delivery were heard at a small discount of December CFR Far East quotations. A 46,000mt propane cargo was said to have been traded at a mid-single discount of December CFR Far East quotations between traders.

FOB Middle East

Saudi Aramco set the November CP at $870/mt for propane and $830/mt for butane, up $70/mt and $35/mt respectively from the previous month. Sources pointed out that propane prices were set considerably higher than expectations while butane prices were lower than expectations. The December CP was expected at around $852/mt for propane and around $837/mt for butane. One Qatari gas producer released the acceptance for December loading early last week. The loading schedules were not concentrated during a specific period and almost all loading dates seemed to have been returned as nominated. A Qatari gas producer and a Kuwaiti gas producer were said to have no room to sell spot cargoes for December loading while sources perceived that Saudi Aramco having high butane inventories might move on spot sales for pure butane cargoes or butane-rich cargoes for December loading.

Asia Pressurized Market

For the FOB South China market, some importers seemed to offer second-half November loading at a premium in the mid $30's/mt to the November CP. Regarding the CFR Vietnam market, importers were not interested in spot purchase since domestic demand was weak due to the COVID-19 outbreak.