Middle East crude benchmarks extended gains on Thursday amid expectation of increased official selling prices (OSPs) from top oil exporter Saudi Arabia.

State oil giant Saudi Aramco is expected to release its August OSPs later on Thursday.

Benchmarks are also supported by spot purchases. China’s Shenghong is heard to have bought an Oman cargo for September-delivery.

In tenders, Sir Lanka’s Ceylon Petroleum Corp is heard having bought 700,000 barrels of Murban for late September-delivery.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps rose 33 cents to $1.46 a barrel.

NEWS

Venezuela’s oil exports in June rose 8% from the previous month to above 700,000 barrels per day (bpd), fuelled by the restart of a key crude processing unit and faster approvals for cargoes departing its shores, according to shipping data and documents from state oil company PDVSA.

Naftoport, Poland’s oil terminal in Gdansk is set for another year of record volumes and plans to build a new jetty for supertankers as Moscow’s decades-long dominant supplier role in Poland and eastern Germany comes to an end.

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

Exxon Mobil Corp XOM.N on Wednesday signalled second-quarter operating profits fell sharply on lower natural gas prices and weaker oil refining margins, according to a regulatory filing.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Muyu Xu; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)