Reliance sells naptha cargo at $ 35/$ 40 per tonne

SINGAPORE, Jan 25 (Reuters) Reliance Industries Ltd. has sold a 55,000-tonne cargo of naphtha for mid-February loading via a tender limited to a few participating companies, traders said on Thursday.

The cargo for Feb. 14-16 loading was sold at a high premium of between and a tonne to Middle East spot quotes, on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, traders said. The buyer was not immediately known.

''Premiums were so high, and we withdrew in the middle (of the process),'' said a Singapore-based trader, who has been invited to take part.

The Asian naphtha market has picked up sharply in recent weeks, with the oil product's premium against Brent crude hitting a three-year high of more than 0 a tonne on Wednesday, mainly on lower Indian exports and strong regional demand.

Reliance, which usually exports two long-ranged cargoes of naphtha via private talks, last month sold two 80,000-tonne cargoes for January loading to Projector and Shell. The sale prices were not known.

REUTERS PV DB1232