OPEC+ Gets Warnings as Closely Watched Oil Grade Collapses - Bloomberg
The premium commanded by one of the Middle East’s most closely watched oil grades collapsed on Monday in a warning sign just days before the monthly OPEC+ meeting on supply.
Oman crude for January loading fell to a premium of about 60 cents a barrel over the regional benchmark on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg calculations show. That’s down from $2.20 on Friday and more than $3 early last week. Trading volumes were lower than usual, according to DME data, with the contract’s expiry approaching.
Oman oil is a widely-referenced proxy for Middle East sales and Asian demand as it’s accepted by refineries in China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
The plunge is likely to catch the attention of OPEC+, which will decide on output levels for January on Thursday. It could give the cartel another reason to press the pause button on restoring supply as it comes on top of the new omicron virus variant and the U.S.-led coordinated release from national reserves.
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