Middle East crude oil for sale to Asia climbed against its benchmark as Saudi Arabia raised the price of its light oil, increasing demand for alternative grades. Murban, produced by Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., for loading in October rose 9 cents to a premium of 1 cent a barrel to its official selling price, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. Qatar Land increased 9 cents to a discount of 18 cents a barrel, Bloomberg data showed. Saudi Arabian Oil Co., the world’s biggest crude exporter, raised the price of its Extra Light grade for September by 10 cents to a premium of $3.05 a barrel to the average of benchmarks Oman and Dubai. The company cut its Light, Medium and Heavy types. Abu Dhabi National Oil, known as Adnoc, lowered the price of its Murban grade for June to a premium of $3.96 a barrel to Dubai from $4.38 for May. The type is at a premium of $3.75 to the average of Oman and Dubai compared with $4.32 a month earlier. The decline in the Murban official price boosted demand from refiners for the grade amid a gain in refining profits from producing gasoil, said three traders who participate in the market. The fuel’s premium was at $19.26 a barrel today, up from $18.02 a week ago, data from PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a London- based broker, show. The spread has widened after Formosa Petrochemical Corp. shut its 540,000 barrel-a-day Mailiao, Taiwan, plant following a fire on July 30. Oman crude for immediate loading dropped for a third day, by $1.78, or 1.6 percent, to $108.10 a barrel, Bloomberg data showed. Dubai oil for delivery in October fell 1.6 percent to $107.68. Murban decreased 1.4 percent to $112.07. Oman futures for October delivery declined 53 cents to $106.97 a barrel on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange at 5:58 p.m. Singapore time, with 1,077 contracts traded. The settlement price was $107.50 at 12:30 p.m. in Dubai. The September Brent-Dubai EFS dropped 10 cents to $5.57 a barrel, according to PVM data. The exchange for swaps for October fell 8 cents to $5.13. 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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