Dubai futures structure steady as market awaits fresh drivers

Singapore — The market structure for benchmark Dubai crude futures was steady in mid-morning trade in Asia Sept. 10 amid tepid activity, with the sour crude market awaiting fresh drivers that were expected to emerge within days.

"Traders are still waiting for more cues on price direction. More activity to come next week," a sour crude source from a Northeast Asian refiner said.

The market is looking to the release of QPSPP's Al-Shaheen tender, Saudi term volume allocations and official selling prices from Qatar Petroleum and SOMO, all of which are expected in the next few days, for fresh price direction.

Amid the thin activity, the October/November spread for Dubai crude futures was pegged at a contango of 34 cents/b, edging up 1 cent/b from the Asian close Sept. 9, S&P Global Platts data showed.

The November/December spread was pegged at a contango of 35 cents/b, unchanged over the same period.

The contango has widened in recent days following OSP cuts by Saudi Aramco, while demand recovery remains tepid, market sources said.

This means that the OSP cuts may not lead to a notable rebound in spot market differentials, they added.

Fundamentals were little changed month on month, with refiners grappling with little to no recovery in product margins.