BLBG:Oman September Oil Price Rises as Brent-Linked Grades Gain
Oman crude’s official selling price rose in September for the first time in two months as the high price of oil from West Africa and Russia forced refiners to purchase more Middle Eastern grades.
Oman exports will cost $110.78 a barrel, based on the average of daily futures settlement prices on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange, calculated by Bloomberg News. That’s 2.7 percent above August’s level of $107.84. Today’s settlement at 12:30 p.m. Dubai time was $111.75.
Demand for Middle Eastern crude was supported by refiners’ inability to afford grades from West Africa and Russia such as Agbami from Nigeria and Urals. The September Brent-Dubai exchange for swaps, which measures the difference between the two benchmarks, was at $5.58 a barrel today, up from $4.44 a month ago, according to data from PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a London-based broker. The exchange for swaps for October narrowed 14 cents to $5.22.
Open interest in the August Oman futures was 14,989 contracts as of 4:29 p.m. Singapore time, the equivalent of about 14.9 million barrels of crude, or about 30 cargoes of 500,000 barrels each, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s the most since February when it reached a record 15,557 contracts, and compares with open interest of 8,460 a month earlier for the first month future.
Oman futures for October delivery rose 4 cents to $111.94 a barrel on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange at 3:44 p.m. Singapore time, with 8 contracts traded.
Oman crude for immediate loading declined 75 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $111.56 a barrel, Bloomberg data showed. Dubai oil for delivery in September fell 0.7 percent to $111.10. Abu Dhabi’s Murban decreased 0.7 percent to $115.35.
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
