Middle East Crude-Benchmarks rise, Murban premium steady

Middle East crude benchmarks Oman, Dubai and Murban continued their winning streak for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday.

Spot premiums for Oman and Dubai recovered to $1 per barrel to Dubai quotes and premium for Murban was stable at $1.03 a barrel.

Market participants said prices may have bottomed out after the sell-off triggered by producer group OPEC+ announcement of unwinding of voluntary production cuts in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, Kuwait has cut the official selling price (OSP) for Kuwait Export Crude (KEC) to Asia in July by 40 cents from the previous month to $1.95 a barrel above the average of Oman/Dubai quotes, a price document reviewed by Reuters showed on Wednesday.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps rose by 6 cents to $1 a barrel.

A total of 39 Dubai partials traded, leading energy trader Unipec to deliver an August-loading Oman crude each to Mercuria and Mitsui.

Global oil demand will peak by 2029 and begin to contract the next year, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday, while oil supply capacity is due to vastly outpace demand by the end of the decade.

U.S. oil refiners and West Coast traders are flagging concerns about the quality of crude shipped on the newly completed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX), warning that high vapor pressure and acidity limits could deter purchases of Canadian heavy barrels.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Mohi Narayan; Editing by Tasim Zahid)