Trading on the Middle East crude market for May looks to pick up this week after the release of allocations by Saudi Arabia and a slew of official selling prices give refiners a better idea of the direction for the new trading month.
On the Asia-Pacific crude market, focus will turn towards May spot cargoes this week as traders look to the issue of loading programmes and the result of Indonesia's Pertamina's monthly tender, which usually sets the tone for regional trading.
MIDEAST FOCUS ON SAUDI SUPPLIES, OPEC MEET All eyes are on Saudi allocations for April, which traders say are likely to be released early on Tuesday, with term buyers bracing themselves for the possibility of deeper supply cuts, after the kingdom kept curbs mostly steady for March supplies. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries next meets on March 15 and many in the market are viewing allocations for top exporter Saudi Arabia as an indication of how the cartel will act at its next policy meeting.
-- Official Selling Prices (OSPs) for April-loading Iranian, Iraqi and Kuwaiti crude heading to Asia are expected out this week and are likely to rise after Saudi Arabia increased the prices of all its crudes to the region earlier last week.
ASIA-PAC MARKET MOVES TOWARDS MAY A few lagging cargoes of April-loading Indonesian and Malaysian spot crudes were still seen available, but demand for the unsold crude is likely to be weak with refiners seen to have covered their requirements for the month, traders said.
In tender activity, Vietnam's state oil marketer PV Oil sold 200,000 barrels of Rong Doi condensate to Japanese refiner Taiyo Oil at a weaker premium than two months ago, traders said. More market direction will emerge this week after Indonesian state oil firm Pertamina, one of the largest buyers of Asian crude through spot tenders, awards its monthly tender for May-arrival crude on Friday.
Australian Loading Programmes for May are expected to be released this week, and trade could start shortly after. The Brent-Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps (EFS) for April was valued at $1.15 a barrel, up from 70 cents on late Friday. April ICE Brent was up 66 cents at $45.51 at 0521 GMT, as a weaker US dollar and optimism that Opec would cut output again at this month's meeting, helped to boost prices.