Oman crude jumps $3.49 in a day to $116.32
Oman's official crude price for December delivery rose to $116.32 a barrel Friday.
· Last verified: 30 Oct 2026 (Oman News Agency)
Summary
- Oman's official crude price for December delivery rose to $116.32 a barrel Friday.
- The one-day gain of $3.49 followed Thursday's settlement of $112.83 a barrel.
- October's monthly average climbed $11.48 from September, lifting Muscat's oil revenue base.
The latest
Oman's official crude price for December delivery settled at $116.32 a barrel on Friday, 30 October 2026, according to the Oman News Agency. The move marked a one-day gain of $3.49 from Thursday's $112.83. The agency also reported the monthly average for October delivery at $87.84 a barrel, up $11.48 on the September figure.
Details
- The daily number: The Oman News Agency said the official price for December-delivery Omani crude reached $116 and 32 cents a barrel on Friday. That compares with $112 and 83 cents the previous day, a single-session rise of $3 and 49 cents, or roughly 3.1% on the Thursday level.
- The monthly average: The agency reported the monthly average for October-delivery Omani crude at $87 and 84 cents a barrel. That is $11 and 48 cents above the September-delivery average, the measure that determines what Asian refiners actually pay for cargoes loading in the month concerned.
- Two different prices: The daily quotation and the monthly average are not the same instrument. The daily figure is a forward settlement for December-loading cargoes, while the $87.84 average is the settled benchmark for October deliveries, which is why the two numbers are nearly $30 apart.
- Why the average matters: Omani crude is a pricing benchmark for Gulf barrels sold into Asia, with the monthly average used as the reference for term contracts. An $11.48 increase therefore raises the purchase cost for refiners in the region that price off the Oman marker.
- The budget side: Oman's public finances are built on oil and gas receipts, so a higher settled monthly average feeds directly into the revenue line of the state budget. The stronger the October average holds against the government's assumed price, the wider the margin on budgeted hydrocarbon income.
- What was not said: The Oman News Agency statement gave the price levels without naming a cause for either the daily jump or the month-on-month increase. It also did not provide volume figures, buyer breakdowns, or a comparison with other regional benchmarks for the same sessions.
- The delivery calendar: Friday's quotation covers cargoes loading in December, one month beyond the contract that just set the October average. Prices for November-delivery barrels sit between the two, meaning the next published monthly average will be the first full read on the current rally.
- The source: The figures were issued by the Oman News Agency, the state news service, dated 30 October 2026 from Muscat. Oman publishes an official daily crude price through the Dubai Mercantile Exchange-based mechanism that produces its forward settlements.
Background
Omani crude trades as one of the main Gulf grades sold east of Suez, alongside Dubai, and its settlements serve as a reference for term supply contracts with Asian buyers. The monthly average, rather than any single session, is the figure embedded in those contracts.
Between the lines
The two numbers point in the same direction but on different clocks. The $11.48 rise in the October average is already locked into contracts and will show up in Muscat's receipts and in Asian refiners' costs now. The $116.32 December quotation is a forward signal that only becomes a cash figure when December cargoes settle, and it can still unwind before then.
What's next
The next monthly average, covering November-delivery cargoes, will show whether the October gain extended or reversed. Daily official settlements continue to be published, and Oman's budget performance against its assumed oil price will register the stronger average.
Source: Oman News Agency