SINGAPORE: The Dubai Middle East crude benchmark was little changed on Tuesday, underpinned by purchases from Chinaoil.
Sellers were looking for strong premiums for December-loading cargoes on limited arbitrage inflows from the Atlantic Basin.
Offers for Murban and Upper Zakum were at 50 cents and more than 20 cents a
barrel, respectively, above their OSPs, a trader said, although trade was muted as refiners were still calculating their spot requirement.
IRAQ: Spot prices for October-loading Basra Light crude in Asia have slipped to discounts against its OSP and could stay weak for another month after the producer did not cut prices for November, trade sources said.
The November official prices put Basra Light at a 40 cents a barrel premium to Saudi Arabia's Arab Medium, making the Iraqi oil the most expensive medium-sour grade produced in the Middle East.
Spot price discounts for Basra mean buyers with term contracts looking to resell their cargoes may be unwilling to let go of them as they will incur losses. That could curb trade volume and profits in one of the most popular grades in Asia.
October-loading cargoes of Basra Light destined for Asia have sold at discounts of more than 10 cents a barrel to its official price, the weakest level in months, trade sources said.
"This month it will be tough too," a Singapore-based trader said, referring to sales of November-loading cargoes.
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