BLBG:Middle East Oil Is Little Changed as Refiners Await New Prices
Middle East oil for sale to Asia was little changed as refiners waited for new official prices from Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. cut posted prices.
Murban, produced by Abu Dhabi National Oil, for November loading remained at a premium of 6 cents a barrel to its official selling price, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Lower Zakum, also produced in the emirate, was at a premium of 1 cent a barrel, Bloomberg data showed.
Saudi Arabia is expected to increase its listed selling prices for October crude amid signs that refiners in China and Japan are increasing their demand.
“The market is eagerly waiting for more direction from Aramco’s latest set of official selling prices,” said Vienna- based analysts at JBC Energy GmbH in their weekly Asian report.
Saudi Arabia may raise its Arab Light listed prices for October by about 55 cents, and Extra Light may increase by 45 cents, according to a Bloomberg News survey of six Asian refiners and analysts. The prices may be released later today.
Abu Dhabi National Oil cut the official selling prices for August-loading cargos for all of its four export grades, the company said in a statement e-mailed to refiners. Murban, the emirate’s biggest crude by volume, was cut 4.3 percent from July to $109.05 a barrel. It is at a $4.03 premium to the price Dubai published via Platts for the same period, according to Bloomberg calculations.
Oman crude for immediate loading fell $2.10, or 1.9 percent, to $106.91 a barrel, Bloomberg data showed. Dubai oil for delivery in November fell 1.9 percent to $106.48. Murban dropped 1.9 percent to $110.50.
Oman futures for November delivery dropped $1.17 to $106.88 a barrel on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange at 5:23 p.m. Singapore time, with 1,108 contracts traded. The settlement price was $107.08 at 1:03 p.m. in Dubai.
The October Brent-Dubai exchange for swaps, which measures the European marker contract against the Persian Gulf grade, narrowed 2 cents to $5.28 a barrel, according to data from PVM Oil Associates, a broker. The exchange for swaps for November fell 4 cents to $4.58.
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
