BLBG:Middle East Crude Oil Falls for a Second Day; Qatar Marine Rises
Middle East crude oil for sale to Asia fell for a second day. Qatar Marine gained against its benchmark as demand for fuel oil rose in Japan.
Oman oil for immediate loading climbed 13 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $107 a barrel, the lowest since May 12, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Dubai for loading in July fell 0.1 percent to $106.40 and Murban crude dropped 0.1 percent to $111.90 a barrel. Qatar Marine, a grade rich in fuel oil, gained 5 cents to a premium of 43 cents a barrel over benchmark prices.
Asia fuel oil losses narrowed from a week earlier on increased demand from Japanese utilities as nuclear power capacity in the country fell.
Fuel oil’s discount to Dubai crude was at $8.45 a barrel today from $10.56 a week earlier, according to PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a London-based oil and refined-products broker.
The profit from processing Qatar Marine in a plant capable of upgrading fuel oil into gasoline and diesel was at $1.79 a barrel today, according to netback calculations by Bloomberg and EnSys Energy. It reached $5.50 on May 6.
The Brent-Dubai exchange for swaps for July widened 33 cents to $5.97 a barrel, PVM data showed. The exchange for swaps for August increased 28 cents to $5.88 a barrel.
Oman futures for July delivery rose 60 cents to $106.55 a barrel on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange at 4:50 p.m. Singapore time, with 969 contracts traded. The settlement price was at $106.61 at 12:30 p.m. in Dubai.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ann Koh in Singapore at akoh15@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net