Middle East Crude

　 Amid growing expectations that the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would be lifted, competition among producers to reduce prices was intensifying, with eyes on the reopening of the Strait. Saudi Arabia's state-owned Saudi Aramco slashed all OSP formulas for July-loading by $6.00, setting the OSP for its light grade Arab Extra Light (AEL) to a premium of $10 to Dubai/Oman average. After that, state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp trimmed the OSP for light crude Kuwait Super Light (KSL) to $5.25 to the average. Furthermore, QatarEnergy (QE) reduced the OSP for Qatar Land (QL) to a premium of $6.50 to Dubai quotes. Those producers need to sell crudes at storage facilities and the reductions led to price competition for prompt-loading cargoes.

African/European/Russian/American Crude

　 In tender-related news, Taiwan's CPC purchased two cargoes (4.0mil barrels) of WTI Midland for September arrival. While the seller remained undisclosed, the awarded price was at a premium in the high single digits to Dated Brent. A Singapore-based trader commented, "Light US crude prices, including WTI Midland, slipped sharply from the previous month, causing this awarded price to be significantly lower than the previous one." Through the tender, CPC was trying to buy sweet crude for September arrival. Several players, including Majors and traders, had participated in the tender.

Asia Pacific Crude

　 In trade for August-loading Australian Ichthys condensate, INPEX had one cargo for early-August loading available for sale. Some market participants increasingly believed that INPEX already started private negotiations with end-users for the cargo. As in the past three months, "INPEX will likely prioritize negotiations with Taiyo Oil in line with Japanese government policy," an energy company in Southeast Asia said. As previously reported, since the Strait of Hormuz was closed in March, INPEX had negotiated privately with Taiyo Oil and sold one Ichthys condensate cargo each for May and July loading to the company on a spot basis.