US-Iran peace deal weighs on West African crude differentials

West African crude oil differentials were looking weaker on Thursday as traders expected the US-Iran peace agreement to boost flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

One trader said that there was lower demand for the crude in Asia which could weigh on Angolan crude grades, with potential for the August cycle of loadings to be bearish as flows through the Strait of Hormuz head towards normalisation.

He added that Exxon had offered Angolan Hungo at minus $1.40 to dated Brent, which moved as low as minus $4 and was then withdrawn, similar to an offer seen earlier in the month.

Traders earlier this week have said that offers across the board were down 20-30 cents a barrel.

Three Saudi-flagged supertankers carrying six million barrels of crude sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, hours after US President Donald Trump signed a deal with Iran to end the war.

Three separate crude tankers were loading oil around the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah outside the strait, with two already heading to Europe with cargoes, Kpler ship tracking data showed.

Physical oil markets have been weaker recently as sluggish demand and releases from inventories have left ample crude supplies available.

In addition, West African grades have been competing with higher Latin American grades, for example from Brazil and Guyana, which are comparable in quality, and more recently with an overhang of Libyan cargoes.

India, a major importer of African crudes, in May saw its imports from Nigeria fall 18 per cent to 149.7 million barrels per day, while imports from Angola more than doubled, rising to 274.4 million bpd from 127.3 million bpd in April.

Its imports from the UAE rose above levels seen before the Iran war to a multi-year high in May.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen; Editing by Maju Samuel)