Middle East crude oil grades for sale to Asia fell versus their benchmarks after producers raised their official prices to the highest in almost three years, limiting demand from refiners. Murban for August loading, produced by Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., dropped 2 cents to a premium of 8 cents a barrel above its official selling price, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Qatar Land dropped 2 cents to a discount of 1 cent a barrel below its official level, the least since Feb. 15, Bloomberg data showed. Both Abu Dhabi National and Qatar Petroleum issued new official prices that are at the highest levels since July 2008 when compared with the benchmark Dubai crude price from publishing service Platts. The Land grade’s premium to Dubai for last month rose to $4.27 a barrel, according to Bloomberg calculations. Murban’s difference climbed to $5.22 a barrel. The higher levels mean that refiners see both types as expensive relative to other Mideast grades. Oman crude for immediate loading rose $1.95, or 1.8 percent, to $111.97 barrel, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Dubai oil for loading in August rose 1.8 percent to $111.51. Murban increased 1.7 percent to $116.28. The Brent-Dubai exchange for swaps for July widened 27 cents to $7.07 a barrel, PVM said. The exchange for swaps for August climbed 22 cents to $6.77 a barrel. Oman futures for August delivery fell 50 cents to $111.25 a barrel on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange at 6:26 p.m. Singapore time, with 1,282 contracts traded. The settlement price was at $111.63 at 12:30 p.m. in Dubai. To contact the reporter on this story: Christian Schmollinger in Singapore at christian.s@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net.

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