Middle East crude benchmarks rose on Tuesday as traders accelerated clearing spot cargoes toward the end of the July trading cycle.
Light sour Murban reached to three-months high of $3.04 a barrel over the Dubai quotes.
“Traders are now rushing to cover their needs as they were slowing to place orders in the first half of the month,” said a Singapore-based trader.
Asian traders increased orders to buy arbitrage cargoes in early July to take advantage of the narrowed Brent-Dubai spread and relatively low freight rates.
Market sentiment was also buoyed by supply tightness as Kazakhstan’s biggest oil producer, Chevron-led CVX.N Tengizchevroil, has reduced daily oil output by 12,000-13,000 metric tons due to unscheduled maintenance.
NEWS
Kazakh oil shipments via Russia, most of which are headed for a Black Sea terminal, are continuing normally, Kazakh Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev said on Tuesday, despite escalating tensions after the breakdown of the Ukrainian grain deal.
Saudi oil exports fell almost 40% in May from the same period a year ago, latest government data released on Tuesday showed, weighing on overall total exports, amid an extension of voluntary production cuts and lower oil prices.
Russia is considering limiting the number of companies allowed to export oil products in a bid to curb illegal exports of fuel intended for the domestic market, the Energy Ministry said on Monday.
Russia’s finance ministry plans to cut the discount it uses to set taxes on the country’s crude oil exports to $20 per barrel from $25 currently, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in remarks published on Tuesday.
Source: Hellenic Shipping News
