Middle East crude prices retreat 1% on week, Brent/Dubai spread little changed

Quantum Commodity Intelligence – Middle East crude oil benchmarks Dubai and Oman, both medium sour crudes, retreated in the week ending July 16, primarily on reports that the OPEC+ producer group has taken a step closer to agreeing to production hikes.

Dubai cash for September delivery was assessed Friday at $72.20/b (1630 Singapore time), down from $73.00/b at last Friday’s close, a fall of 1.1%, according to Quantum data.

However, prices are down $2.50/b from Tuesday’s peak of $74.70/b, which came before news that Saudi Arabia and UAE had reached a compromise agreement over the latter’s baseline production level.

Compared to September ICE Brent futures, Dubai was little changed on the week at $1.39/b, against $1.52/b on July 9.

DME Oman futures for September settled $72.29/b at the Asia close, compared to last Friday’s settle of $73.09/b.

Meanwhile, light sweet Murban for September was trading on Abu Dhabi’s IFAD exchange settled at $72.79/b, versus $73.85/b last week.

The September ICE Brent vs Murban spread was around $0.13/b wider at $0.80/b, while Murban futures vs Oman futures stood at $0.50/b, down around $0.25/b on the week.