Asian demand lifts sour crudes

摘要

Russian medium sour Urals' discount to dated BFO narrowed in the Mediterranean on a combination of Asia-Pacific demand and improved refining margins.Shipping delays from the Black Sea remained lengthy at around 22 days for a round trip,but some lifters have resorted to using 40,000t vessels to bypass the hold-ups facing larger tankers.A return to contango in the paper market allowed sellers to hang on to cargoes longer in hope of smaller discounts.