SINGAPORE: The Asia-Pacific crude market remained supported by high refining margins and Brent's narrowing spread to Dubai crude.
Brent's premium to Dubai swaps fell to its lowest since early-October last year, making Brent-linked grades more attractive relative to Middle East grades.
Brent-Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps (EFS) narrowed 12 cents to $1.14 a barrel.
Malaysia's Petronas sold 600,000 barrels of Labuan crude loading in May at around $5.10-$5.30 a barrel above dated Brent, according to traders, slightly higher than last month. The cargo may have been bought by Concord Energy, they said, but the deal could not be verified.
ONGC sold 700,000 barrels of Russian Sokol crude for loading on May 21-27 via a tender at around $4 a barrel above Oman/Dubai quotes, traders said, in line or slightly higher than the previous month.
A tanker is currently lifting 700,000 barrels of crude at the eastern Libyan port of Hariga, an oil official said on Monday.
A second tanker was expected at the eastern port of Zueitina on Tuesday to load 600,000 barrels of crude, another official said.
Sinopec Corp, Asia's largest refiner, said on Monday it will take a long time for international crude oil prices to return to $100 a barrel, a day after it posted its first quarterly loss as a listed company.
MARKET NEWS
OPEC will not take sole responsibility for propping up the oil price, Saudi Arabia's oil minister said on Sunday, signaling the world's top petroleum exporter is determined to ride out a market slump that has roughly halved prices since last June.
Noble Group Ltd said on Monday it plans to start legal proceedings after a little-known research firm accused one Asia's biggest commodities trading houses of inflating profits and understating its debt.
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