A cargo of Russia’s East Siberia Pacific Ocean pipeline crude for June loading traded at the biggest reported premium since April shipments sold last month. Glencore International Plc (GLEN) paid about $4.60 to $4.90 a barrel more than benchmark Dubai prices to OAO Rosneft (ROSN) for a 100,000-metric-ton cargo of so-called ESPO for loading May 30 to June 2, according to two traders who participate in the market, declining to be identified because the information is confidential. ESPO prices are linked to the monthly average of Dubai crude as published by the Platts oil-pricing company. The Rosneft cargo bought by Glencore was sold against June assessments, the traders said. The premium was the highest since Japan’s JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. paid $5.40 a barrel above Dubai for an early-April shipment, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Rosneft also sold a May 19 to May 22 ESPO cargo to BP Plc (BP/), according to two traders. The price was not known. Saudi Arabian Oil Co. will announce the official selling prices for its crude in May by April 5. Saudi prices are used as a guide for some Middle East producers, including Iran, Iraq and Kuwait. Oil output by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries rose to the highest level in more than three years in March, led by a Libyan production gain, a Bloomberg News survey showed. Production increased 110,000 barrels, or 0.4 percent, to an average 31.22 million barrels a day from a revised 31.11 million in February, according to the survey of oil companies, producers and analysts. Iraq Exports Iraq’s oil exports in March were at the highest level since 1980, a year after former President Saddam Hussein came to power. The Middle East country exported 71.8 million barrels, or 2.3 million barrels a day, in March, according to Asim Jihad, an oil ministry spokesman. The May Brent-Dubai (PVMMDBSP) exchange for swaps, which measures the European marker grade’s premium against the Middle East oil, increased 10 cents to $4.20 a barrel, according to data from PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a London-based broker. The June EFS gained 6 cents to $4.09. Dubai crude’s backwardation, when the price for delivery now is greater than that for later, rose by 5 cents. Swaps for May were $1.73 a barrel more than July, according to PVM data. Oman for June delivery was down 24 cents at $120.08 a barrel at 5:30 p.m. Singapore on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange time with 1,261 contracts traded. The contract settled at $120.36 at 12:30 p.m. Dubai time. No Dubai partials were sold today, according to a survey of traders who monitor the Platts pricing window. To contact the reporter on this story: Ramsey Al-Rikabi in Singapore at ralrikabi@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net

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