Middle East crude oil benchmarks end week little changed, Dubai at $72.25

Quantum Commodity Intelligence – Middle East crude oil benchmarks Dubai and Oman, both medium sour crudes, were little changed in the week ending July 23, despite heightened volatility after the OPEC+ producer group announced a 2 million barrel per day increase by year-end.

Dubai cash for September delivery was assessed Friday at $72.25/b (1630 Singapore time), up from $72.20/b at last Friday's close, or just 0.05%, according to Quantum data.

Asian markets avoided the worst of the sell-off at the start of the week due to the early Singapore close on Monday, ahead of Tuesday's holiday when Brent and WTI tumbled to 8-week lows.

Compared to September ICE Brent futures, Dubai cash continued to gain on the North Sea benchmark, settling at a 4-month low of +$1.29/b compared to +$1.39/b on July 16.

DME Oman futures for September settled $72.71/b at the Asia close, compared to last Friday's settle of $72.29/b. Brent/DME Oman was +$0.82/b, compared to +$1.30/b on July 16.

Meanwhile, light sweet Murban for September was trading on Abu Dhabi's IFAD exchange settled at $72.90/b, versus $72.79/b last week.

The September ICE Brent vs Murban spread was $0.12/b wider at +$0.63/b, while Murban futures vs Oman futures stood at +$0.19/b, down around +$0.30/b on the week.