Weak Asia demand pulls down Middle East sour crude

摘要

Singapore—The market for medium heavy Middle East sour crudes has come under pressure from lackluster end-user demand and relatively uncompetitive official selling prices, trading sources said Tuesday. Asian refiners, despite an increase in margins have remained in a low-run-rate environment and going into the winter are focusing on lighter crudes that yield more gasoil and kerosene, sources said. The contango between first and third month Platts Dubai crude assessments widened on Monday by 6 cents/barrel to $1.50/b, the widest the spread has been since August 17, 2010 when it was $1.51/b, as refiners focused on covering their requirements with lighter sour crudes and using term barrels rather than buying from the spot market, traders said.