SINGAPORE: Middle East crude benchmark Dubai fell to the lowest in more than three months on Friday in the absence of deals on window.
Traders are bearish on the outlook for medium and heavy grades this month amid ample supplies and lower demand from India and Taiwan.
India's IOC cancelled a tender to buy spot sour crude while Taiwan's CPC is unlikely to buy any crude until the Taoyuan plant completes repairs, traders said.
Backwardation in the Dubai curve has also narrowed with the prompt April-May spread down 5 cents to 19 cents a barrel on Friday, Reuters data showed.
"People are selling prompt Dubai spreads harder than West spreads," a trader said, adding that weakness in the Dubai structure widened its spread with Brent.
Brent's premium to Dubai rose 11 cents to $3.59 a barrel on Friday, the widest in more than a week.
Light grades are the only bright spot in the market with Russian Sokol and Abu Dhabi's Murban cargoes sold.
UAE: India's IOC bought 1 million barrels of Murban crude via its sweet crude tender, traders said. The seller and the price were not immediately known. This purchase is in addition to 2 million barrels of West African crude from Total, they said.
April-loading Murban crude has been offered at 10 cents above its OSP, a trader said.
RUSSIA: India's ONGC has sold its April-loading Russian Sokol crude at a premium steady from the previous month, several trade sources said.
The 700,000-barrel cargo, loading on April 6-12, was sold to Shell at $5.25-$5.30 a barrel above Dubai quotes, they said.
The sale marks the first trade for light sour grade in Asia this month, signalling that demand for such grades remains firm, the sources said.
Last month, ONGC sold two Sokol cargoes at $5.10-$5.40 a barrel above Dubai quotes
OSPs
Kuwait has cut the March official selling price (OSP) for its crude oil sold to Asia by 25 cents per barrel from the previous month, an industry source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
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