Sweet Crude Grades in Med Rise on Better Refining Margins

Sweet crude grades in the Mediterranean such as Azeri Light are firming amid better refining margins, especially for gasoline and naphtha, traders told Bloomberg.

• Azeri Light is now priced at more than $5/bbl above Dated Brent, compared with a premium of $4-$4.50/bbl a week ago.
• The CPC Blend discount also narrowed to about $1/bbl to Dated, compared with a discount of $1-1.5/bbl in early December.
• Demand for sweet grades in the Med is picking up as refiners try to secure supplies before the holiday season, traders said, while the upside is limited as heavy flows from the USGC will continue to keep the market well supplied.
• Gasoline cracks surged in late November, nearly doubled from two months ago but have since then eased back slightly in December.
  • Brent FCC margin up 0.4$/bbl at 8.72$/bbl
  • EU Gasoline-Brent up 0.2$/bbl at 8.07$/bbl
  • EU Gasoil-Brent up 0.7$/bbl at 24.05$/bbl