RTRS:Middle East Crude-Firmer as buyers eye Iran tension
SINGAPORE, May 28 (Reuters) - Middle East crude benchmarks
were slightly firmer on Monday, compared with week-earlier
levels, as fears over the impact of supply disruptions from OPEC
producer Iran kept buyers on edge.
July-loading Abu Dhabi Murban crude was valued at a discount
of 25 to 30 cents to its official selling price (OSP) according
to traders, but no deals were heard concluded in
over-the-counter (OTC) trade.
Prices for Murban have risen about 10-15 cents from week-ago
levels, but any further gains have been capped by the
fundamental weakness in naphtha refining margins.
"The heavier grades are getting a bit of a bump, Abu Dhabi
is kind of in between as buyers look to alternatives for Iranian
grades," a trader said.
Abu Dhabi crudes like Murban are rich in distillate yields
and typically reflect the fundamentals of the distillates
market.
Heavier grades from Gulf producers like Bahrain and Qatar
were seen to be mostly committed with traders now switching
their attention to August.
* MARKET NEWS
- The U.N. nuclear watchdog has not yet given good enough
reasons to visit an Iranian site where it suspects there may
have been experiments for developing nuclear weapons, Iranian
media said.
- China aims to launch crude oil futures within the year and
allow them to be traded by foreign investors as the country
speeds the opening of its commodities futures market to overseas
players, the chairwoman of the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE)
said on Monday.
- Russia's No.2 oil producer LUKOIL reported on
Monday a forecast-beating 7.7 percent increase in first-quarter
earnings to $3.79 billion, with higher oil prices helping to
offset a slight fall in production.
CRUDE Price Prev Change
JULY DME Oman diff to Dubai swaps 0.72 0.81 -0.09
JULY Brent 107.56 107.07 0.49
JULY Dubai 103.96 103.27 0.69
JULY DME Oman 104.68 104.08 0.60
JULY Brent/Dubai EFS 3.60 3.80 -0.20
PRODUCT CRACKS Price Prev Change
JUNE fuel oil crack -3.45 -2.44 -1.01
JUNE gasoil crack 15.04 15.43 -0.39
JULY naphtha crack -11.14 -11.96 0.82
COMPLEX REFINERY MARGINS
Today 6.38
Last 5 days 6.65
Last 365 days 7.53
