Despite the spread between the MTBE spot prices in Europe and Asia reaching a historical high of $310.25/mt Friday, traders said Monday there was little chance of Asian MTBE heading to European shores as Asia remained short of the gasoline blendstock.
European MTBE hit a fresh high of $1,527.25/mt FOB Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp Friday, while Asian MTBE was assessed at $1,217/mt FOB Singapore, taking the spread between the two benchmarks to a record high of $310.25/mt, Platts data showed.
Factoring in freight rates between Asia and Europe and other export costs, traders said a premium of $150/mt would make arbitrage economics workable.
But Asian traders were skeptical of any MTBE cargoes being shipped to Europe as the Asian MTBE market remained tight with most suppliers not operating at full rates.
A Singapore-based MTBE producer said that tightness in supply of feedstock naphtha has led to lower run rates.
Thailand's IRPC and Malaysia's Petronas have reduced their operating rates to 70-80%, while Petrochemical Corp. of Singapore was running its 70,000 mt/year MTBE plant at 85%.
