ONGC sells May lot at lower premium

SINGAPORE, Apr 30 (Reuters) Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) has sold a 35,000-tonne May naphtha cargo to Japanese trader Itochu at a sharply lower premium than its previous sale, traders said on Monday.

The cargo, to loaded on May 10-12 at Jawahar Lal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Mumbai, was sold at $10-12 a tonne premium to Middle East spot quotes, sharply lower than its previous sale for an April 16-18 loading parcel at more than $20 a tonne premium.

The Asian naphtha market has weakened, with spot premium down to about $2-$3 to Japan spot quotes recently, from $10 last month.

''The surplus of naphtha are coming from India. Already the price of naphtha is high, so when the price is high, the premium will be down as we have to see the affordability of the customer,'' said another trader.

REUTERS SR VP1207