Middle East Crude-Benchmarks start Feb at stronger level on demand rebound hopes

SINGAPORE, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Middle East crude benchmarks Oman, Dubai and Murban kicked off a new month at higher premiums on Wednesday as traders expect oil demand to increase, mostly due to China. Traders will start placing orders for April-loading Persian Gulf crude this month. Not much heavy maintenance at Asian refineries is scheduled this spring. OPEC OPEC oil output fell in January, a Reuters survey found on Tuesday, as Iraqi exports declined and Nigerian output did not recover further while Gulf members maintained strong compliance with an OPEC+ deal on production cuts to support the market. SINGAPORE CASH DEALS Cash Dubai's premium to swaps rose 87 cents to $2.00 a barrel. Seller-Buyer Price RELIANCE-MERCURIA 83.55 PHILLIPS 66-MERCURIA 83.55 PHILLIPS 66-TRAFIGURA 83.55 RELIANCE-MERCURIA 83.55 GUNVOR-TRAFIGURA 83.55 GUNVOR-MERCURIA 83.55 PHILLIPS 66-TRAFIGURA 83.55 HENGLI-MERCURIA 83.55 PHILLIPS 66-TRAFIGURA 83.55 HENGLI-MERCURIA 83.55 GUNVOR-TRAFIGURA 83.55 KOCH-MERCURIA 83.55 VITOL-TRAFIGURA 83.55 VITOL-MERCURIA 83.55 VITOL-TRAFIGURA 83.55 KOCH-MERCURIA 83.55 GUNVOR-TRAFIGURA 83.55 VITOL-PETROCHINA 83.55

PRICES ($/BBL) CURRENT PREV SESSION DME OMAN 83.55 79.91 DME OMAN DIFF TO DUBAI 2.00 0.14 CASH DUBAI 83.55 80.90 ASIAN REFINERIES South Korea's S-Oil plans to shut its No.3 crude distillation unit (CDU), condensate fractionation unit (CFU) and hydrocracker for maintenance in May, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday. NEWS Russia's exports of ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD) from the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk are set to rise by 4.6% month-on-month on a daily basis in February to 1.71 million tonnes, from 1.81 million tonnes scheduled for January, two traders said on Wednesday. South Korea's S-Oil said on Wednesday it sees regional refining margins in 2023 remaining elevated over pre-2022 levels, though the company posted a loss in the fourth quarter of 2022 on a fall in oil prices during the period. Oil prices will see a gradual rise this year as demand recovery spurred by China's reopening and supply shortfalls due to sanctions on Russia offer some respite from global recession worries, a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday. For crude prices, oil product cracks and refining margins, please click on the RICs below. Brent Dubai DME Oman Brent/Dubai EFS PRODUCT CRACKS
Fuel oil crack Gasoil crack Naphtha crack Complex refining margins (Reporting by Muyu Xu; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

Asia Europe Americas CRUDE OIL MARKET NEWS
Crude oil tenders in Asia Crude oil supply outages in Asia Refinery outages in Asia Global arbitrage news and flows W.African crude imports to Asia, monthly REFINERY MAINTENANCE DIARIES
Asia Middle East Europe NATIONAL CRUDE IMPORT DATA
Japan China India S.Korea Indonesia CRUDE OIL INVENTORY DATA
Japan US Europe CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION/OILFIELD NEWS
OPEC output survey New Africa fields New projects New Americas fields CRUDE OIL MARKET REPORTS
Middle East Asia-Pacific West Africa North Sea Asia outlook Europe outlook Global futures report Technicals report PRICES
For all Official Selling Prices For a POLL on oil prices NYMEX and ICE oil futures TOCOM crude oil futures Dubai, Oman swaps and spread Middle East physical crude diffs Australia physical crude, Tapis swaps Asia-Pacific physical crude All Asian crude oil differentials All Asian crude oil outright prices ))

Reuters

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

off-the-wire

Middle East Crude-Benchmarks start Feb at stronger level on demand rebound hopes

By Reuters

Reuters

Reuters

Gold has a path to $4,000 as U.S. credibility crumbles - WisdomTree’s Nitesh Shah

Why gold revaluation charts put prices at $25,000-$55,000 if history rhymes, silver poised for breakout: Crescat Capital Strategist

Whether 145% or 10%, tariff uncertainty is enough to stop U.S. gold and silver imports, distort the metals market at all levels – Experts

Gold price plummets as U.S.-China trade relations thawing

Gold price down a bit amid better risk appetite