Middle East Crude-Benchmarks post small weekly gain on more attacks on Saudi

SINGAPORE, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Spot premiums for Middle East crude benchmarks Oman and Dubai posted a small weekly gain on Friday, even though they stayed flat for the session, due to rising tension in the Gulf that threatened supply outlook.

Saudi Aramco 2222.SE on Thursday ordered the evacuation of its headquarters in Dhahran on the Gulf near Bahrain, Reuters reported, as fighting intensified between the world's largest crude exporter and Yemen-based Houthis.

Oil prices rose on Friday, with Brent crude touching a more than five-month high. O/R

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai's premium to swaps fell 2 cents to $8.23 a barrel.

Unipec will deliver a December-loading Oman crude cargo to Trafigura following the deals.

Glencore will deliver a December-loading Murban crude cargo to Trafigura following the deals.

PRICES ($/BBL)

NEWS

A Malta-flagged tanker carrying 40,000 metric tons of Russian diesel is heading towards New York following an agreement with US President Donald Trump, LSEG data showed on Friday.

Japan's government is considering scaling back gasoline subsidies from as early as December amid growing concerns that funding for the costly measure could eventually run short, two ruling party officials familiar with the matter said on Friday.

India's state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp is increasingly buying Middle Eastern crude on a delivered basis, as producers with stranded cargoes offer discounts to offset higher freight costs, its chair said on Friday.

India's crude oil imports rose more than 16% in September from the previous month to 22.26 million metric tons, government data showed on Friday.

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