CRUDE MOC: Platts July cash Dubai crude closes at $34.85/b, averages $30.467/b in May

Platts July cash Oman closes at $35.15/b, averages $30.751/b in May

Dubai cash/futures spread averages minus $2.73/b over May

Dubai spread up $6.42/b from minus $9.15/b average in April

The S&P Global Platts cash assessment for July-loading Dubai crude oil cargoes settled at $34.85/b Friday, meaning it averaged $30.467/b for the month.

The July cash assessment for Oman crude settled at $35.15/b Friday, taking the average for May to $30.751/b.

Those compared with April averages of $20.387/b for June cash Dubai and $20.482/b for June cash Oman, Platts data showed.

The outright prices were up 49.4% and 50.1%, respectively, from the April average. Oil prices staged a mild recovery after two consecutive months of deep slides on the back of the coronavirus pandemic.

Price recovery has come amid easing restrictions in various countries, and also as OPEC+ alliance's 9.7 million b/d production cuts took excess supply off global markets that had little demand.

Meanwhile, June cash Dubai's discount to the Oman assessment averaged 28.4 cents/b in May, widening from 9.5 cents/b in April.

Most notably, the Dubai cash/futures spread -- closely tracked by Middle East crude traders for cues about spot market sentiment -- staged a significant recovery from a record low of minus $9.15/b over April, to average minus $2.73/b over May.

Still, the spread was firmly in contango, pointing to delicate demand recovery for Middle East sour crude in Asian markets for the moment, crude traders have said.

There has been some evidence the OPEC+ deal has had a measured impact on rebalancing market equilibrium, with the prompt June/July Dubai futures spread flipping into slight backwardation toward the end of the month.

The spread was assessed at 8 cents/b backwardation on Friday. The July/August spread was still in contango, being assessed at minus 20 cents/b at the 4:30 pm Singapore close (0830 GMT).

Meanwhile, the Platts MOC in May saw a total 42 partials change hands, 20 for Dubai and 22 for Oman.

In addition, two full-sized crude cargoes were traded on the newly launched cargo platform for Asian crude markets. One July loading cargo of Upper Zakum was bought by Shell from seller ExxonMobil, and the second was a July loading cargo of Murban offered by Total, and purchased by Shell.

Both cargoes traded at premiums relative to their respective official selling prices, potentially making a case for price rises from producers in the next cycle.

Physical cargoes traded on the spot market in Asia are often tracked by producers for cues about market sentiment when making price setting decisions for upcoming cycles.