SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmarks Oman and Dubai edged down for the second straight session on Tuesday as the November trading cycle approaches its end.
Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is expected to keep its November official selling prices (OSPs) little changed for Asian buyers in line with Middle East benchmarks, a survey showed.
Seven people from various Asian refineries expect the November OSP for flagship Arab Light crude to rise by 3 cents a barrel on average from the previous month, the survey showed.
Five of the seven respondents expect prices to stay unchanged or rise slightly while the remaining two expect prices to fall, the survey showed. Their price forecasts range from an increase of 20-30 cents a barrel to a reduction of 30 cents.
In the spot market, Taiwanese refiner Formosa bought 1 million barrels of November-loading Angola's Girassol crude at a premium of above 90 cents a barrel to dated Brent, a trader said.
RUSSIAN CRUDE:
ESPO Blend crude oil loadings from Russia's Pacific port of Kozmino are set at 2.64 million tonnes for November, unchanged from October, a schedule seen by Reuters showed.
REFINERY
Indian refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp will continue to import gasoline for the next few months as its crude processing is hit due to lower demand for diesel that accounts for 40%-45% of its product slate, its head of marketing A. K. Singh said.
NEWS
The heads of the world's largest trading houses predicted on Tuesday tepid oil demand recovery and flat prices due to the coronavirus pandemic in coming months and possibly even years although said peak demand will not be reached until next decade.
G20 energy ministers reaffirmed a commitment to "ensure that the energy sector continues to make a full, effective contribution to overcoming COVID-19" and recognized actions by both producers and consumers to stabilize energy markets.
(Reporting by Shu Zhang; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) ((shu.zhang@thomsonreuters.com; +65-6870-3549; Reuters Messaging: Twitter @shuzhang4))
