LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Trading was sparse as shifts in
crude price differentials made it less attractive to buy West
African grades from Asia while Chinese buying remained muted.
* Offers for Nigerian Forcados and Agbami crude notched
down, with the latter last offered at dated Brent minus $1.
* Traders said a worsening coronavirus wave in India, a
major customer, could soon cut into sales.
* Cracks for very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) reached a
two-week high but the widest Brent-Dubai spread in over a year
has limited arbitrage flow from the Atlantic Basin to Asia.
DUB-EFS-1M
* The spread makes crude from other regions more economical
for buyers.
* Eni sold a May loading cargo of Angolan Kissanje crude for
just above dated Brent minus $1, traders said.
* At least six other spot Angolan cargoes were on offer at
prices largely steady from Monday, though potential buyers
expected downward revisions to be inevitable with some
May-loading cargoes still unsold.
TENDERS
* Chinese independent refiner Haike has a buy tender for
June arrival closing this week. The refiner is looking at a wide
variety of grades, not exclusively West African.
* Indonesia's Pertamina issued a buy tender for early June
loading or, alternatively, July arriving crude which is set to
close on Thursday.
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