SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmarks Oman, Dubai and Murban slipped on Thursday while Brent's premium to Dubai also eased as the recent price rally took a breather.
Several March-loading cargoes have been sold this week to Indian and Chinese buyers, even though the trading cycle had ended last month.
Total sold about 1 million barrels of Upper Zakum and 2 million barrels of Murban crude for March loading to an Indian and Chinese buyer, respectively, traders said.
Total had accumulated these cargoes from the previous month when the French major went on a buying spree on the Platts window, one of them said.
Separately, Rongsheng Petrochemical sold 2 million barrels of Upper Zakum crude loading in March to Unipec, traders said.
The cargo was sold at a premium of $2.50-$2.90 a barrel to Dubai quotes, one of them said, although this could not be confirmed.
Rongsheng had to sell its crude because it is dealing with a backlog of shipments at its discharge port, traders said.
OSPs
Qatar is set to raise in March the price differential of its crude grades relative to the average price of the Dubai and Oman benchmarks, state producer Qatar Energy said on Wednesday.
Qatar Marine will be sold in March at a premium of $2.20 per barrel over the Dubai/Oman average, while Qatar Land will be sold at a premium of $2.65 per barrel, according a pricing document posted on Qatar Energy's website.
ASIA-PACIFIC CRUDE
Malaysia's Kimanis crude oil exports will rise in April from March, a preliminary loading programme showed on Thursday.
NEWS
Global supplies of diesel are dwindling as refiners struggle to keep pace with rapid post-pandemic demand recovery, exacerbating an acute global energy shortage which has already sent the prices of gas, coal and crude oil soaring.
Japan will divert some liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes to Europe after requests from the United States and the European Union, the industry minister said on Wednesday, a step that aligns the country with the West as tensions flare with Russia.
India's fuel consumption fell in January after scaling a nine-month peak in December, government data showed on Wednesday, as COVID-19 curbs in several states hit mobility and industrial activity.
Japan is weighing further measures to help blunt a sharp rise in fuel prices and minimise the impact on people's lives and economic activities, the industry minister said on Thursday, as oil prices stay high amid tight supply.
Nigerian fuel retailer MRS Oil Nigeria said on Wednesday gasoline it had received from Litasco, the Swiss trading arm of Russia's Lukoil, was unusable.
(Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Devika Syamnath) ((Florence.Tan@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: florence.tan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
