Crude benchmarks used to price Mideast Gulf oil exports to Asia-Pacific are in the spotlight again following a strong rally on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange’s (DME) Oman futures contract. The surge in DME Oman prices took the value of lower-quality medium sour Oman crude above that of Ice Brent future prices - which reflect higher quality light sweet crude produced in the North Sea - for at least three consecutive days (see graph). DME Oman settled just below $89/bl on 26 September, about $7/bl higher than Ice Brent at the same time. On average, DME Oman has been about $2.30/bl below Ice Brent this year.
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