MOSCOW: Urals differentials firmed in northwest Europe to premium against dated Brent as demand for December cargoes was high due to expectations of lower supplies of the grade next month.
* In the Platts window France's Total purchased 100,000 tonnes of Urals loading from Baltic ports on Dec. 5-9 from Trafigura at dated Brent plus $0.10 a barrel, traders said.
* The deal was some 40 cents a barrel firmer than the recent estimations, according to Reuters data.
* It is the first time since 2013 Urals crude oil in northwest Europe traded at premium to BFOE, Eikon Refinitiv data shows.
* Traders thought that expectations of lower Urals exports in December, outage of Iranian barrels in Europe due to sanctions and weaker Brent price were behind the recent hike in demand for the Russian grade.
* Urals loading plan for the first days of December is expected to be released later this week. Before it happens trading of December Urals cargoes is limited as most of producers prefer not to sell without knowing actual loading dates for their cargoes.
* Urals differentials in Mediterranean were also supported due to high demand, traders said. Just a few cargoes for loading in November remained unsold, they added.
* There were no bids or offers for Urals loading from Black Sea's Novorossiisk port, CPC Blend crude oil or Azeri BTC in the Platts window on Wednesday, traders said.
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