Dubai : Middle East crude oils for sale to Asia climbed on signs that refiners in Japan are increasing purchases in order to produce fuel ahead of winter.
Murban for October loading, produced by Abu Dhabi National Oil Co, climbed 9 cents to a discount of 3 cents a barrel to its official price, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Qatar Marine for October rose 6 cents to a discount of 2 cents a barrel, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Processing runs
Refiners in Japan last week raised their processing runs to 81.4 per cent of capacity from 80.7 per cent a week earlier, according to the country's Petroleum Association on Wednesday.
Japanese refiners are looking to purchase October supplies for arrival ahead of the winter heating demand season, said two traders who participate in the market.
A tanker loading in the Middle East would take 23 days to travel to the Far East, meaning a ship taking on a cargo in October would disembark in early November, according to data from Bloomberg.
Oman crude for immediate loading climbed 67 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $74.14 (Dh272.24) a barrel, according to Bloomberg data. Dubai for loading in October rose 73 cents, or 1 percent, to $74.01. Murban increased 1.1 percent to $74.49.
Oman futures for October delivery climbed 57 cents to $74.43 a barrel on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange at 6.10pm Singapore time, with 1,108 contracts traded. The settlement price was set at $74.10 at 12.30 Dubai time.
Exchange swaps
The Brent-Dubai exchange for swaps for October widened 17 cents to $1.57 a barrel and the exchange for swaps for November rose 12 cents to $1.51 a barrel, according to data from brokers PVM Oil Associates. The exchange for swaps is the price difference between Brent and Dubai swaps contracts.
