Brent/Dubai EFS trades above $4/b on firm N.Sea, highest in over two years

London (Quantum Commodity Intelligence) – The Brent/Dubai EFS (exchange of futures for swap), a key metric in comparing Dubai-related crude oil versus grades pricing against the North Sea Brent benchmark, traded above $4/barrel for the first time in over two years Monday, according to brokers.

"The (August) EFS traded $4.03/b, although [it's] off a bit now," confirmed a broker, speaking shortly after the Singapore trading window.

The August EFS was assessed by Quantum on Monday at $4.01/b, an increase of $0.12/b from Friday and up from $2.90/b on the July EFS at the end of May.

The spread reflects North Sea light sweet crude against medium sour crude in Asia and is also a measure of the west/east spread.  

A wider spread typically makes Middle East crude and other grades pricing against Dubai (or Dubai/Oman) more attractive to Asian refiners, while Dated-Brent related crudes, such as those from the North Sea or West Africa, become more expensive.

Brent has broadly outperformed the Middle East Dubai benchmark in June, with European demand expected to pick up over the summer months.

The front-month ICE Brent spread has doubled in the last two weeks from around +0.40/b to more than +$0.80/b, the widest spread since January 2020 outside of expiry-day volatility.