Rebound in sight? European market shakes up naphtha flows, and paper could follow

Commentary summary:

• Arbitrage flows from the MED to NWE skyrockets: MR margins have improved by ~$9/mt in July.

• Arb to Asia remain marginally open from MED, so both destinations can raise the competitiveness for European and North Africa barrels.

• Crack and timespreads close to yearly lows globally, but could soon reflect European strength?

• It should not last but spot arbitrage from the USGC to both NWE and Asia has emerged too amid weaker RBOB and MB C5.

For the fourth consecutive week, naphtha market timespreads have continued to trade with limited volatility within the range seen over the past month.

Jorge Molinero is a Commodity Owner at Sparta. Starting his career as a financial analyst with BBVA, Jorge quickly transitioned to market intelligence within the energy sector, spending 4 years as a naphtha analyst with Repsol before joining Sparta in early 2023.

Sparta is a live, market intelligence and forecasting platform that enables oil traders, refiners, banks, hedge funds and wholesalers to have access to real-time and global actionable insights to capture market opportunities before others.

To find out how Sparta can allow you to make smarter trading decisions, faster, contact us for a demonstration at sales@spartacommodites.com