Brent/Dubai Aug EFS stays steady; market awaits Al-Shaheen tender

The front-month Brent/Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps, or EFS, spread was near-steady midmorning Asia trade June 10 while market participants awaited Qatar Petroleum's key Al-Shaheen tender.

The August Brent/Dubai EFS was pegged at $3.36/b at 11 am in Singapore (0300 GMT) on June 10, narrowing 1 cent/b from the Asian close June 9, S&P Global Platts data showed.

The Brent/Dubai EFS is a key indicator of the spread between light, sweet and heavy, sour crudes, and a wider EFS makes crude priced against Dubai more economically attractive for Asian refiners compared with Brent-linked ones.

The wider market awaited the issuance of Qatar Petroleum's Al-Shaheen tender to flag off spot market activity for August-loading crude.

Premiums of Al-Shaheen are keenly watched by the market as they are often viewed as indicators for medium, sour grades.

A healthy demand sentiment this month could lead to stronger spot buying activity for medium and heavy crude grades, traders said.

"At this moment I do not see any bearish factors. Only Iran's return could weigh on market but [there is a] low possibility of return now," said a trader in Singapore.

At midmorning in Singapore, the August/September Dubai time spread was pegged at 57 cents/b, narrowing 2 cents/b from the close on June 9, the data showed.

The September/October Dubai time spread was pegged at 53 cents/b, narrowing 1 cent/b from the previous day.