NdrewSINGAPORE, March 19 (Reuters) - Brent crude futures flipped to a discount against Dubai swaps on Wednesday, the first time since November 2023, LSEG data showed, underscoring the strength of Middle East sour oil versus the global sweet crude benchmark.
The Brent-Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps (EFS) was assessed at minus 2 cents a barrel at Wednesday's market close at 0430 GMT, LSEG data showed.
The discount has since widened further to 14 cents a barrel, two trade sources said. Sweet, or low-sulphur oil, is typically more expensive than those with higher sulphur content as they are easier to process.
"We recently saw a lot of bidding activity in the Dubai window by trade houses, which supports the Middle East benchmark," said Harry Tchilligurian, head of research at Onyx Capital Group.
"Brent, on the other hand, is drawing less support as refiners in Europe are still undergoing scheduled maintenance and refining margins in Northwest Europe are subdued."
Brent crude futures also came under pressure on Wednesday after Russia agreed to U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal that Moscow and Kyiv temporarily stop attacking each other's energy infrastructure, a move that could eventually pave the way for Russian oil to enter global markets.
Brent's weakness against Dubai has opened up arbitrage opportunities for sweet crude produced in the Atlantic Basin to head to Asia, another trader said.
The price spreads between dated Brent and Dubai are also in discounts for April to June contracts, he added.
Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Louise Heavens
Source: Reuters