Middle East Crude-Benchmarks little changed after Saudi cuts OSPs

Middle East crude benchmarks Dubai, Oman and Murban were little changed on Thursday, with spot premiums hovering around $1 a barrel, depressed by weak refining margins and after Saudi Arabia cut prices for July-loading oil.

Saudi Arabia set its flagship Arab Light crude oil official selling price (OSP) to Asia at plus $2.40 versus Oman/Dubai average for July, a document seen by Reuters showed on Wednesday.

That marks a 50-cent per barrel cut from the June OSP, the first cut in five months and towards the lower end of market expectations, according to a Reuters survey.

Its OSPs for other crude grades sold to Asian customers were slashed by 40-60 cents, the document showed.

Refining sources expected state oil giant Saudi Aramco 2222.SE to cut its prices in Asia because of falling Middle East crude benchmarks and weaker profit margins for Asian refiners.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps fell 1 cent to 97 cents a barrel.

A total of 37 Dubai partials traded, leading Trafigura to deliver an August-loading Oman crude cargo to Mercuria.

NEWS

The current OPEC+ agreement is helping to balance oil supply and demand and provides certainty for energy markets, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday, adding that the group might adjust it if necessary to support the market.

OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais on Thursday defended the recent adjustments to the OPEC+ oil output deal, calling it a success.

Trading house Trafigura posted a more than 74% drop in net profit in the first half of its 2024 financial year, the lowest since 2020 for the same period, as the extreme turbulence that defined commodity markets in recent years fizzled out.

U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose unexpectedly last week, while gasoline and distillate inventories also increased as refining ramped up and demand fell despite the kick-off of the summer driving season, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.

Trader Gunvor and French major TotalEnergies TTEF.PA have stored North Sea crude in at least four tankers in the past month as on-water stockpiling of the grades hits a 2-1/2 year high, a fresh sign of weak appetite for oil from refiners.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Florence Tan; editing by Jason Neely and Mrigank Dhaniwala)