Sources say: As oil prices rise in the Middle East, Asia increases imports of U.S. WTI crude oil.

Jin10 data reported on July 31st that, according to trade sources, Asia is expected to increase imports of U.S. WTI crude oil in the fourth quarter due to rising Middle Eastern crude oil prices, which have opened up an arbitrage window. They stated that due to strong demand for high-sulfur crude oil in Asia, the benchmark prices for Middle Eastern crude oil this month—Dubai crude and Murban crude—have risen, narrowing the price gap with low-sulfur light U.S. WTI crude oil. June Goh, a senior analyst at Sparta Commodities, indicated that the WTI arbitrage window targeting Asia has remained wide open over the past week, particularly noticeable for cargoes arriving in early November. Sources said that U.S. oil producer Occidental Petroleum has sold WTI crude oil to Japanese refiner Idemitsu Kosan. One source revealed that this batch of crude oil was traded at a premium price of about $3.50 per barrel higher than the October Dubai crude oil quote, with delivery scheduled for October.