Benchmark Dubai crude futures held firm in mid-morning trading in Asia on Friday, despite a widening Brent/Dubai spread, amid robust trading of December loading Middle East sour crude barrels.
At 11 am in Singapore (0300 GMT), the December Brent/Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps spread was notionally pegged at $2.73/b, 15 cents/b wider than its assessed level of $2.58/b at 4:30 pm in Singapore (0830 GMT) on Thursday.
Typically, Dubai intermonth spreads tend to soften on a widening Brent/Dubai EFS, to adjust for the relatively cheaper Dubai end of the spread.
However, Dubai intermonth spreads held firmly on to Thursday's assessed levels, Friday morning.
The November/December Dubai futures spread was pegged at $1.01/b at 11 am in Singapore, compared with Thursday's assessment of $1.02/b.
The December/January spread actually firmed Friday morning, standing at 90 cents/b compared with 84 cents/b assessed Thursday.
The Middle East sour crude market is expected to be active on Friday, since trading for the current cycle only kicked off in earnest earlier this week on Wednesday.
Several outstanding buy tenders for Persian Gulf grades are expected to be concluded today, which will free up cargoes offered in those tenders for the wider spot market, traders said.
Meanwhile, crude traders were also digesting surging premiums for Russian ESPO crude that were offered in a sell tender Thursday.
Russia's Surgut sold two 100,000 mt cargoes of the medium sweet grade at premiums of between $8.65/b and $8.90/b over Platts front-month Dubai crude assessments.
More ESPO tenders will follow in the coming days, and price differentials are expected to exceed those from the Surgut tender, market participants said.
