The 200,000-barrel cargo loading on Aug. 21-27 was sold to Unipec at a small discount to dated Brent, they said. The crude was sold in the previous month at around parity to the benchmark.
Russian ESPO crude held steady after Surgutneftegaz sold cargoes loading in end-August to early September at premiums of $2-$2.20 a barrel to Dubai quotes, traders said.
The low price may have attracted some demand from Chinese teapots, a trader said.