SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmarks Oman and Dubai weakened on Thursday in volatile trade on first day of the month.

Dubai, as quoted by price-reporting agency S&P Global Platts, rebounded in July to an average of $63.254 a barrel, the highest since May, a trader who participates in the market said. 

The official selling price (OSP) of a basket of July-loading Malaysian crude oil grades OSP/MY has been set at $70.14 a barrel, the highest since May, Malaysian state oil firm Petrona said on Thursday. 

OPEC oil output hit an eight-year low in July as a further voluntary cut by top exporter Saudi Arabia deepened losses caused by U.S. sanctions on Iran and outages elsewhere in the group, a Reuters survey found. 

 

REFINERY

Exxon Mobil Corp brought under control a fire that erupted on Wednesday at its Baytown, Texas, refining and chemical plant complex, injuring 37 workers, none seriously. 

 

NEWS

Royal Dutch Shell's RDSa.L second-quarter profit slumped to a 30-month low due to weaker gas prices and refining margins, falling far short of expectations and denting a steady recovery in recent years. 

U.S. crude oil output declined 26,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May to 12.11 million bpd, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a monthly report released on Wednesday. 

U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell for the seventh straight week, falling to their lowest levels since November even as production rebounded and net imports increased, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. 

South Korea's July crude oil imports fell 12.9% from a year earlier to 84.2 million barrels, preliminary data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy showed on Thursday. 

Three Canadian oil producing companies are buying newspaper advertisements ahead of an autumn federal election to turn up pressure on the country's politicians to support the struggling industry.

(Reporting By Shu Zhang; Editing by Rashmi Aich) ((shu.zhang@thomsonreuters.com; +65-6870-3549; Reuters Messaging: shu.zhang.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; Twitter @shuzhang4))