Cash Dubai and DME Oman hit the highest levels this month on Wednesday in the Middle East crude market even as physical trade slowed. Cash Dubai and DME Oman both rose to about $1 above Dubai swaps. There were only four Dubai partials deals on window between Unipec, Mercuria and Gunvor on the buy side, and only Chinaoil sold, traders said.
DME Oman for September settled at $52.47, down $1.28, at 0830 GMT. This puts DME Oman at $1.03 a barrel above Dubai swaps, up from a premium of 73 cents in the previous session. Russian ESPO loading in early September came under pressure. Trafigura sold an ESPO cargo for loading in early September to Unipec at 60-70 cents a barrel above Dubai quotes, traders said.
Rosneft sold via tender an ESPO cargo for September 5-10 loading to ChemChina at a premium between 80 cents and $1 a barrel to Dubai quotes, they said. The premium for a cargo loading on September 22-27 was probably the highest seen this month. Rosneft sold the cargo in the tender to Sinochem at a premium of about $1.60 a barrel, traders said. The deals could not be independently verified. India's dependence on Middle Eastern crude plunged to its lowest level in 14 years in 2014/15, while the share of Latin American oil in its overall imports peaked during the period, according to government data.