LONDON: Mediterranean and Baltic Sea crude grades were steady on Friday supported by a shortage of Russian barrels, Libyan supply outages and unreliable Iraqi deliveries.
There were no trades in Urals, CPC, Azeri or any other Mediterranean or Baltic crude grade in the Platts window, traders said.
Libyan output remained disrupted all week, while pumping alongside the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline only resumed on Thursday.
Russian barrels were nearly sold for the November programme, traders said.
Urals values stood at a premium to dated Brent in the Mediterranean during the week and were expected to remain strong next week.
"In terms of supply, the Libyan situation is as dire as ever," JBC analysts said in a note.
"For us, the current market looks to be a potential trap for anyone hoping for further downside.
The end of maintenance at refineries, together with ever increasing chances for winter weather (and with it rising middle distillate demand) finally hitting the market could quickly turn the present tide."
Kazakh CPC Blend traded this week at dated Brent plus 80 cents cif Augusta, its highest since end-September.
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