Middle East Crude

　In trade of Saudi Arabian grades, supplies from Ras Tanura port and Juaymah port were disrupted while supply from the Yanbu port continued. Pumping volumes in the East-West pipeline increased slightly, which some market players believed boosted the supply led by Saudi Arabia's Arab Light (AL) to over 4.0 million barrels per day (b/d). A company in South Asia said that in April, the supply ex the Yanbu port sometimes failed to reach 3.0 million b/d, but since early May, the supply volumes sometimes increased to 4.0 million b/d, equivalent to two VLCCs. Many end-users in Asia such as those in India, Thailand, Japan and South Korea continued to receive crudes under long-term contracts and Saudi Aramco was believed to have increased its supply to a maximum level.

African/European/Russian/American Crude

In US crude trade, discussions for August arrival in Northeast Asia were mostly concluded. Following June to July arrival, Japanese refiners significantly increased purchases of US grades for August arrival as an alternative to Middle Eastern crude. Idemitsu Kosan had purchased a total of 10 mil barrels (equivalent to 5 VLCCs), ENEOS purchased a total of 8 mil barrels (equivalent to 4 VLCCs), Cosmo Oil purchased a total of 6 mil barrels (equivalent to 3 VLCCs), and Taiyo Oil bought a total of 4 mil barrels (equivalent to 2 VLCCs) respectively, according to market participants. Meanwhile, it was revealed that ENEOS had purchased 1.3 mil barrels of WTI Midland and 800,000 barrels of Mars for August arrival from South Korea's SK Energy although the price was unclear. Additionally, ENEOS recently purchased 2 mil barrels of WTI Midland for August arrival at a premium of around $18 to Dubai quotes. It later revealed that the seller was European Vitol.

Asia Pacific Crude

In trade for July-loading Vietnamese grades, PV Oil's sell tender for Thang Long was concluded. Vitol won the cargo, with the award price heard at a premium in the $9s to Dated Brent. The tender, which closed on Thursday with validity until Tuesday, was the first issued by PV Oil since the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The tender offered one 250,000-barrel cargo for July 20-25 loading. Amid a significant decrease in the supply of Middle Eastern crude, PV Oil has continued to indicate that it will prioritize domestic supply.