Middle East crude benchmark spot premiums of Oman, Dubai and Murban ticked up on Friday and posted gains on a weekly basis amid firm demand.
Meanwhile, oil market sentiment improved this week with macro news such as a new trade agreement hammered out between the United States and Britain, and China-U.S. to meet for trade talks.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS
Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps rose 16 cents to $1.54 a barrel.
Gunvor will deliver a July-loading Murban crude cargo to PetroChina following the deals.
NEWS
China’s April crude oil imports slowed from the previous month but rose 7.5% from a year earlier due to abundant deliveries of sanctioned shipments and as state refiners built stocks during maintenance shutdowns.
Recent U.S. sanctions on two small Chinese refiners for buying Iranian oil have created difficulties receiving crude and led them to sell product under other names, sources familiar with the matter said, evidence of the disruption that Washington’s stepped-up pressure is inflicting on Tehran’s biggest oil buyer.
Shares in BP BP. edged higher on Friday after the Financial Times reported a number of rivals have “run the numbers” about a possible takeover of the London-listed oil company.
Oil and gas drilling permit applications in Texas, the top U.S. oil-producing state, fell to their lowest last month since February 2021, consultancy Enverus said, amid concerns that rising OPEC+ supplies and a trade war will continue to hit crude prices.
Source: Reuters