Middle East crude benchmarks Oman and Dubai advanced on Wednesday on expectations of stronger Chinese demand, after Beijing announced its biggest bank reserve ratio cut in two years to boost the economy.

China’s central bank will cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves from Feb. 5, the first such cut for the year as policymakers extend efforts to shore up a fragile economic recovery amid plunging stock markets.

Spot premium for Oman crude rose to $1.11 a barrel over Dubai quotes, up from $0.91 in the previous session. China accounted for over 80% of Oman’s crude exports in 2023.

Meanwhile, China’s independent refiners continued to withhold purchases of Iranian and Venezuelan crude oil due to high prices. No deal has been heard for February-arrival cargoes.

Trades for March-arrival Russian ESPO crude just started, with offers at minus 50 cents to plus 50 cents against ICE Brent, trading sources said.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps rose 13 cents to $1.06 per barrel.

NEWS

Russian energy company Novatek NVTK.MM resumed fuel loadings on Wednesday at its Baltic Sea Ust-Luga terminal, damaged in a suspected drone attack, according to industry sources and LSEG data.

U.S. crude oil and distillate inventories fell last week, while gasoline stockpiles rose, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday.

Blockbuster takeovers by oil and gas majors pushed the value of U.S. energy dealmaking last year to a record $192 billion, more than triple the amount in 2022, according to data from analytics firms Enverus on Tuesday.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Muyu Xu; Editing by Eileen Soreng)