Urals differentials remain stable, some cargoes diverted around Africa

Urals crude oil differentials to dated Brent were unchanged on Wednesday, while a couple of cargoes of the grade took a route around Africa last month, traders said.

At least three tankers in total with Russian Urals oil on board chose a longer route to Asia around Africa's Cape of Good Hope in March and April as military risks in the Red Sea remain high, two traders said and LSEG data showed.

Previously most of tankers with Russian oil onboard chose the short route via the Suez Canal, despite the risks of attacks on vessels by Yemen-based Houthi militants.

Traders waited for June-loading Urals cargoes to emerge on offer later this week.

PLATTS WINDOW

• BP offered 90,000 metric tons of CPC Blend loading on June 20-24 at dated Brent minus $3 per barrel, above recent estimates, but failed to find a buyer.

• No bids or offers were made for Urals and Azeri BTC crude in the Platts window on Wednesday.

NEWS

• U.S. crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week as both refining activity and fuel demand rose, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

• The International Energy Agency on Wednesday trimmed its forecast for 2024 oil demand growth, widening the gap with producer group OPEC in terms of expectations for this year's global demand outlook.