Middle East Crude-Benchmarks rise; EFS widens to 4-week high

Middle East Crude-Benchmarks rise; EFS widens to 4-week high

SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmarks Oman and Dubai rose on the last day of the month, while investors' attention was on an upcoming OPEC+ meeting on Tuesday. The OPEC+ group is likely to stick to the existing pace of gradually easing oil supply curbs at their meeting, OPEC sources said, as producers balance expectations of a recovery in demand against a possible increase in Iranian supply. Iran's oil output can easily reach 6.5 million barrels per day (bpd) when U.S. sanctions are lifted, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Monday, according to the Ministry's SHANA website. Brent crude's premium to Dubai swaps on Monday widened for a third straight session to $3.21 a barrel, its highest since May 5, Refinitiv Eikon data showed. The official selling price (OSP) for Oman crude in July will rise by $3.30 to $66.4 a barrel, Reuters calculations based on data from the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) showed. The Dubai crude OSP, set at a $0.30 per barrel discount to DME Oman, was calculated at $66.10 a barrel for July. NEWS The number of daily new COVID-19 cases in Malaysia has soared past India's on a per capita basis, while total cases in Thailand,