SINGAPORE: Differentials in the Asia-Pacific crude market were supported by high costs of shipping arbitrage cargoes to the region, but upside was limited by still weak demand when trading for February cargoes gains pace next week, traders said on Friday.
Spot differentials for Russia's Vityaz grade held steady, after Sakhalin Energy sold two February-loading to customers in China at about $1.50 a barrel above Dubai quotes, a trader said.
Last month, the light sweet grade was sold at around the same level.
Sakhalin Energy is expected to issue a Vityaz tender early next week. International Energy Agency (IEA) on Friday cut its outlook for global oil demand growth for 2015 by 230,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 0.9 million bpd on expectations of lower fuel consumption in Russia and other oil-exporting countries.
Brent crude slipped as low as $62.90 a barrel to its lowest since July 2009 on Friday.
Brent-Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps (EFS), or Brent's premium to Dubai swaps, narrowed 2 cents to $2.30 a barrel. The gap for February crude was $1.95 a barrel.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.