Spot differentials for Middle East crude oil for May loading steadied on Monday as traders said the stronger April official selling prices (OSPs) for the lightest Saudi grades could spur demand for medium and heavier sour crude. State-run oil firm Saudi Aramco has raised the OSPs for its April-loading crude to most destinations, except for the Arab Heavy grade to Asia Pacific, traders said. The April OSP for Arab Extra light crude was set at the Oman/Dubai average plus $3.40 a barrel, 55 cents higher than its March price. It cut the April OSP for Arab Heavy grade from March.
Traders in Tokyo and Singapore said the rise in the OSPs for lighter Saudi grades was bigger than expected, and might spur demand for more affordable medium and heavier grades from other suppliers.
"Japanese buyers, especially, are likely to shift their requirements to medium and heavy grades," a trader at a European major said.
Medium sour Oman crude for May lifting was assessed steady at a premium of 20 and 26 cents to its OSP set by the Ministry of Oil and Gas (MOG).
Some traders said May-lifting Oman might firm further. But others said spot Oman price might have hit the ceiling as end-users might ask for more barrels of medium crude from other Middle East suppliers based on their term contracts to meet their requirements rather than taking spot barrels.
On the sweet market, state-run refiner Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has bought about 1 million barrels of Yemeni Masila crude and 2 million barrels of Nigerian Bonny Light via tender for May loadings, traders said.
Indonesia's Pertamina has issued its regular tender to buy sweet crudes for May-arrival, a company source said.
The May Brent/Dubai Exchange For Swaps (EFS) was $7.48/$7.60 a barrel, brokers said.
On Friday evening, the EFS numbers were seen at between $7.76 and $7.84 for April.
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