Middle East crude oil climbed on speculation that Asian refiners may boost purchases as processing profits rebound. Qatar Land crude rose $1.27, or 1.1 percent, to $114.76 a barrel, according to data compiled by Bangalore. Dubai oil for loading in August advanced 0.3 percent to $111.11 a barrel. Murban, produced by Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., increased 0.5 percent to $116. Refiners may be buying more crude as gasoil’s premium to Dubai crude, a measure of refining profit, has climbed this month. The price difference, known as the crack spread, rose 54 cents to $21.45 a barrel today, according to data from PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a London-based brokerage. That’s up from $18.43 at the end of May. Oman futures for August delivery climbed 45 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $112.10 a barrel on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange, with 1,120 contracts traded. The settlement price was at $111.83 at 12:30 p.m. in Dubai. The Brent-Dubai exchange for swaps for July narrowed 33 cents to $8.05 a barrel, data from PVM showed. The exchange for swaps for August fell 24 cents to $7.21 a barrel. To contact the reporter on this story: Pratish Narayanan in Mumbai at pnarayanan9@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net

Source