Benchmark Dubai crude futures' spreads were largely unchanged in mid-morning trading in Asia on Friday, at the close of the October cycle on the last trading day of August, and as market participants kept a close watch on developments for the US-China trade talks.
At 11 am in Singapore on Friday (0300 GMT), the October Brent/Dubai futures spread, or Exchange of Futures for Swaps, was notionally pegged at $2.75/b wider than the $2.67/b assessment at Thursday's Asian close.
The September/October Dubai futures spread was a notch higher Friday morning at $1.02/b, from $1.01/b assessed Thursday. The October/November spread narrowed to 80 cents/b from its assessed level of 82 cents/b on Thursday.
Crude traders for Middle East barrels will now look forward to receiving fresh official selling prices from producers starting next week.
Market participants said in a preliminary survey Friday that they expect producers to make small to medium-sized price hikes for most crude grades, with the exception of crude with high fuel oil yields.
Elsewhere, a new round of US tariffs on some Chinese goods is scheduled to take effect on Sunday, September 1 and December 15 later this year.
According to media reports, US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that the US and China were meeting at a "different level", but failed to provide more details.
"While there is no immediate retaliation expected from China, this does not suggest an improvement in situation either. China's response, while a temporary relief for markets, continues to fall in line with the view that they may delay a deal until the 2020 US elections, while at the same time through talks avoid further escalations that could be damaging to the health of the economy," IG market strategist Pan Jingyi said.
"Altogether this could still make for prolonged trade uncertainty," she added.
While markets were waiting for more clarity on the US-China trade talks, UOB analysts in a note Friday said: "There is still a small window for both countries to withdraw the September 1 tariffs and return to talks as we look for the confirmation of the dates for in-person meetings in Washington in September."
