Middle East crude benchmark Dubai fell to the lowest in more than three months on Friday in the absence of deals on window. Traders are bearish on the outlook for medium and heavy grades this month amid ample supplies and lower demand from India and Taiwan.
India's IOC cancelled a tender to buy spot sour crude while Taiwan's CPC is unlikely to buy any crude until the Taoyuan plant completes repairs, traders said. Backwardation in the Dubai curve has also narrowed with the prompt April-May spread down 5 cents to 19 cents a barrel on Friday, Reuters data showed.
"People are selling prompt Dubai spreads harder than West spreads," a trader said, adding that weakness in the Dubai structure widened its spread with Brent. Brent's premium to Dubai rose 11 cents to $3.59 a barrel on Friday, the widest in more than a week.
Light grades are the only bright spot in the market with Russian Sokol and Abu Dhabi's Murban cargoes sold. India's IOC bought 1 million barrels of Murban crude via its sweet crude tender, traders said. The seller and the price were not immediately known. This purchase is in addition to 2 million barrels of West African crude from Total, they said.
April-loading Murban crude has been offered at 10 cents above its OSP, a trader said. India's ONGC has sold its April-loading Russian Sokol crude at a premium steady from the previous month, several trade sources said.
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