Wednesday, 31 March 2010 at 15:57, Bloomberg
Oman crude, a Arabian Gulf benchmark for Asia, for May loading rose 5.3 per cent as demand for the grade climbed after processing profits gained.
Oman oil will sell for $77.77 a barrel in May, up from April’s $73.88, according to Bloomberg calculations of the average settlement price of futures traded on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange this month.
Dubai crude, which is priced off the Oman benchmark, will sell at $77.37 a barrel in May. Oil from the second-largest sheikhdom in the United Arab Emirates is priced at a differential to the Omani contract. That was set at a discount of 40 cents on February 25.
Increased processing profits pushed refiners to operate their units at higher levels in February to take advantage of the margins. The average margin for Oman crude processed in a plant capable of upgrading fuel oil into gasoline and diesel was $2.18 in March, up from $1.77 in February.
China’s Oman consumption has surged this year with the country more than doubling imports to 1.697 million tonnes in February, or about 450,000 barrels a day.
Open interest in the May Oman contract was 13,471 contracts, or the equivalent of 13.5 million barrels of crude. That means futures holders will take delivery of 27 cargoes.
Oman crude for immediate loading increased 1 percent to $79.45 a barrel. Dubai for loading in May rose 1 per cent to $79.05 a barrel. Murban climbed 0.9 per cent to $79.90.
Oman futures for June delivery rose 28 cents to $79.88 a barrel on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange at 5:51 pm Singapore time, with 81 contracts traded.
The Brent-Dubai exchange for swaps for May widened 4 cents to $1.76 a barrel and the exchange for swaps for June widened 5 cents to $1.87 a barrel, according to data from brokers PVM Oil Associates. The exchange for swaps is the price difference between Brent and Dubai swaps contracts.
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