BLBG:Middle East Crude Oil Rises on Improving Gasoil Refining Margins
Middle East crude oils for sale to Asia ended a five-day decline as refining margins for gasoil rose. Premiums for Qatar Marine crude fell.
Oman oil for immediate loading climbed $1.96, or 1.9 percent, to $106.04 a barrel, according to Bloomberg data. Dubai for loading in June gained 1.8 percent to $105.56 and Murban crude increased 1.8 percent to $110.40 a barrel.
Middle East crude has been supported by a surge in refining profits for middle distillates including gasoil and kerosene. Gasoil’s premium to Dubai crude was at $19.70 a barrel, about 77 percent higher than a year earlier, according to data from PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a London-based brokerage.
The premium for Qatar Marine, a grade rich in fuel oil, was 4 cents lower at 11 cents a barrel, Bloomberg data showed.
The Brent-Dubai exchange for swaps for June widened 5 cents to $6.25 a barrel, PVM data showed. The exchange for swaps for July rose 9 cents to $6.30 a barrel.
Oman futures for July delivery increased $2.50 today to $106.85 a barrel on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange at 4:33 p.m. Singapore time, with 968 contracts traded. The settlement price was at $106.51 at 12:30 p.m. in Dubai.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ann Koh in Singapore at akoh15@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net