Middle East Oil Trades at Discounts as South Korea Releases Fuel

Middle East crude for sale to Asia traded at discounts on concerns of slowing demand as South Korea began selling fuel supplies under the International Energy Agency’s planned release of stockpiles.

Abu Dhabi’s Murban for August loading remained at a discount of 8 cents a barrel to its official selling price, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Qatar Land was unchanged at a discount of 41 cents, Bloomberg data showed.

Demand for fuels may be slowing as refiners in South Korea absorb the first releases of supplies under the IEA’s planned sales. The country has sold 440,000 barrels of oil products, including gasoline and diesel, to refiners since July 1, said a spokesman for Korea National Oil Corp. yesterday. Asia’s fourth- biggest oil user plans to tap 3.5 million barrels of crude and oil products from its stockpiles as part of an IEA decision to free about 60 million barrels from reserves.

Oman futures for September delivery climbed $1.31 to $109.46 a barrel on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange at 5:13 p.m. Singapore time, with 1,523 contracts traded. The settlement price was $108.91 at 12:30 p.m. in Dubai.

Oman crude for immediate loading increased $1.91, or 1.8 percent, to $108.69 a barrel, Bloomberg data showed. Dubai oil for delivery in September rose 1.8 percent to $108.43. Murban climbed 1.7 percent to $112.73.

The August Brent-Dubai exchange for swaps, which measures the European marker against the Persian Gulf grade, widened 5 cents to $5.70 a barrel, according to data from PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a crude and refined-products broker in London. The exchange for swaps for September rose 8 cents to $5.09.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christian Schmollinger in Singapore at christian.s@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net.