Middle East Crude-Benchmarks rise ahead of US Hormuz blockade

SINGAPORE, April 13 (Reuters) - Middle East crude benchmark spot premiums ticked up on Monday, after Washington and Tehran failed to reach a deal to end the war over the weekend and the U.S. Navy prepared to block ships to and from Iran via the Strait of Hormuz.

While shipping data showed three supertankers fully laden with oil passed through the Strait on Saturday, tankers were steering clear of the waterway on Monday, ahead of the U.S. blockade set to begin at 1000 ET (1400 GMT).

Oil prices jumped back above $100 a barrel on Monday. O/R

SAUDI ALLOCATION

Saudi Arabia's crude oil sales to China are set to fall to a record low in May as the U.S.-Iran conflict drives up prices and disrupts shipping, people familiar with the situation said.

Saudi Aramco 2222.SE is set to ship about 20 million barrels of oil to its customers in China for May, or about 645,161 barrels per day (bpd), they said.

That would mark the lowest level on record and less than half of the roughly 45 million barrels the Kingdom shipped to China each month in January and February, based on Kpler and Reuters data.

Major Chinese refiners Sinopec 600028.SS and Rongsheng Petrochemical 002493.SZ have sharply reduced their lifting for May, according to the sources, who were not authorised to speak to the media.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai's premium to swaps rose $2.40 to $14.50 a barrel.

PRICES ($/BBL)

NEWS

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which supplies oil from Kazakhstan and Russia, increased crude exports by 48% in March, two industry sources said on Monday, buoyed by a recovery in output at the Tengiz oilfield.

Asia's biggest liquefied petroleum gas $(LPG)$ importers, including India and China, are racing to replace disrupted Middle East supplies with cargoes from the Americas, driving spot premiums to record highs, analysts and traders said.

Oilfield services provider Baker Hughes BKR.O sold its Waygate Technologies unit to Swedish industrial technology group Hexagon HEXAb.ST for about $1.45 billion in cash, the two companies said on Monday.

Germany's coalition government has agreed to fuel price relief for consumers and businesses worth 1.6 billion euros ($1.9 billion), ending a spat about how to react to a spike in oil prices due to the Iran war.

For crude prices, oil product cracks and refining margins, please click on the RICs below.

(Reporting by Siyi Liu in Singapore; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)

((siyi.liu@thomsonreuters.com;))