Japan's naphtha imports for ethylene production in July jumped 25.2% month on month to 1.238 million mt, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Wednesday.
During the month, demand for naphtha increased as turnarounds at two naphtha-fed steam crackers came to an end.
The import price for naphtha averaged $869.5/mt in July, down 10.6% from $972.4/mt in June, the ministry said.
Demand for naphtha increased as Maruzen Petrochemical restarted its 550,000 mt/year Chiba steam cracker on June 21 after maintenance since mid-May. Mitsubishi Chemical also restarted its 375,000 mt/year No. 1 steam cracker at Kashima on July 4 after a turnaround since May 10.
