IOC sells naphtha at over $ 20 premium

SINGAPORE, Mar 9 (Reuters) Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) sold by tender 27,000-29,000 tonnes of naphtha for April loading to Japanese trading house Itochu, a trading source said on Friday.

The cargo was sold at more than a tonne above Middle East spot quotes, on a free-on-board (FOB) basis from Dahej on the west coast, the source said.

The state-run refiner last month sold six naphtha cargoes for loading between April and September to Itochu via a term tender: one 27,000-to-29,000-tonne cargo per month to be loaded in Dahej, between Kandla and Mumbai.

A trader said the IOC sold at a .88 a tonne premium to the average of Argus and Platts Middle East quotes.

On top of the term sale, IOC also offered 180,000 tonnes of naphtha in the same April-September period via a term tender due to close on March 13, with bids valid until the following day.

REUTERS CS DS1404