Middle East crude-oil grades climbed on the expectation that refiners may purchase supplies to take advantage of increases in processing profits. Oman crude for immediate loading rose $1.97, or 1.8 percent, to $110.02 barrel, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Dubai oil for loading in August rose 1.8 percent to $109.56. Murban increased 1.8 percent to $114.35. Refiners in Asia may be purchasing more crude as gasoil’s premium to Dubai crude, a measure of refining profit, has climbed this month. The price difference, known as the crack spread, fell 16 cents today to $19.85 a barrel, according to data from PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a London-based brokerage. That’s up from $18.77 a month earlier. Qatar lowered its May official prices, with Qatar Land falling to $112.65 a barrel from $119.80 in April. Qatar Marine dropped to $109.60 from $117. The Land grade’s premium to the Dubai price published by Platts for last month rose to $4.27, the most since July 2008, according to Bloomberg calculations. The Brent-Dubai exchange for swaps for July widened 20 cents to $6.68 a barrel, PVM said. The exchange for swaps for August climbed 18 cents to $6.40 a barrel. Oman futures for August delivery fell $1.05 to $109.70 a barrel on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange at 6:52 p.m. Singapore time, with 1,048 contracts traded. The settlement price was at $109.80 at 12:30 p.m. in Dubai. 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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