Qatar Energy set the term price for cargoes of al-Shaheen oil loading in June at a higher level than for May, indicating stronger demand for crude for the summer amid tightening supply after producers agreed to cut output.
Qatar set the price for June cargoes at a premium of about $2.37 a barrel above Dubai quotes, up from about $2.01 a barrel the previous month, trading sources said on Friday. The term price was decided following the sale of four cargoes of June-loading al-Shaheen crude via a spot tender which closed earlier this week.
Trading sources said Malaysia's Petronas and PetroChina won the cargoes at a price range of about $2-$2.40 a barrel above Dubai quotes, the sources said.
The higher trades follow the announcement from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies such as Russia, known as OPEC+, that they would carry out additional output cuts for the rest of 2023.
That prompted Middle Eastern oil producers to raise their official selling prices for June-loading cargoes and drove up spot market prices. CRU/M Companies normally decline to comment on their trading activities.
(Reuters - Reporting by Muyu Xu and Florence Tan; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Christian Schmollinger)