Dubai Oil to Sell at 5-Cent Discount to Oman Crude

By Anthony DiPaola

Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Dubai oil, a Persian Gulf benchmark for Asia, will sell at a narrower discount to Oman crude for a second month in February after other Middle Eastern states increased prices.

The official selling price for Dubai crude loading in February will be set at a discount of 5 cents to the Oman futures contract traded on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange for that month, the emirate’s Department of Petroleum Affairs said in an e-mail provided by the exchange today.

The differential to Oman crude narrowed from 15 cents for January and from 45 cents for December after October and November cargoes were unchanged at a 30-cent discount. The final price for February crude will be set on the last day of trading for that month’s contract, when the Oman level is calculated.

Saudi Aramco, the state oil company, said Nov. 1 it was raising prices of its Arab Light, Medium and Heavy crude grades for customers in the U.S. in December. Abu Dhabi said a day later it was raising official selling prices for October.

Dubai’s Department of Petroleum Affairs generally issues the differential on the last Thursday of every month to apply to the closing three months ahead. The differential came out a day early this month since tomorrow is a national holiday in the United Arab Emirates. The Dubai Exchange’s futures contract is used to set the official selling price for Oman’s 728,000 barrels a day of supplies.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anthony DiPaola in Dubai at adipaola@bloomberg.net.