Reliance sells 55KT naphtha to Itochu

SINGAPORE, Feb 14 (Reuters) Reliance Industries Ltd. has sold a 55,000-tonne cargo of naphtha for late March loading to Japanese trading house Itochu, an industry source said on Wednesday.

Another source said that the cargo was sold at a premium of between and a tonne to Middle East spot quotes, on a free-on-board (FOB) basis. This was down slightly from its last sale, though the level was still quite high.

Reliance in January sold a similar parcel for Feb. 14-16 loading at a premium of between and a tonne above Middle East spot quotes, FOB.

The regional petrochemical feedstock market has picked up sharply for February- and March-loading cargoes, as India's exports have fallen below 500,000 tonnes for the months, against last year's average monthly shipments of about 520,000 tonnes.

For a full list of India's naphtha exports: [ID:nSP104109] The Brent/naphtha crack -- the premium paid for naphtha versus Brent crude which shows the naphtha market strength -- hit a three-year high of 3-4 a tonne last week.

Naphtha is the feedstock used to produce ethylene and propylene, the basic building blocks for the chemical sector.

REUTERS PV DS1300