SINGAPORE, June 11 (Reuters) - Middle East crude benchmarks Oman, Dubai and Murban rose on Thursday after hostilities between the U.S. and Iran escalated a day earlier.

Oil prices rose on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States will hit Iran "very hard tonight" and will soon take control of the Middle Eastern country's oil and gas infrastructure and markets. O/R

However, countering supply disruptions is sluggish demand, as indicated by Saudi's July crude sales to China.

Saudi Aramco 2222.SE will ship about 12 million barrels of oil to customers in China for July loading, a record monthly low, or about 387,096 barrels per day, trade sources said on Thursday.

Sinopec 600028.SS, the world's largest refiner by processing capacity, did not buy any Saudi crude for a second consecutive month, according to the sources.

TENDER

India's state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) has purchased 4 million barrels of Murban crude from the United Arab Emirates for August delivery from Totsa, the trading arm of TotalEnergies, and Mercuria, trade sources said on Thursday.

The crude was priced at a premium of about 40 cents per barrel to the July dated Brent benchmark, one of the sources said.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai's premium to swaps rose $1.15 to $4.87 a barrel.

PRICES ($/BBL)

NEWS

Three months into the Iran war, the oil market is coming to grips with an unexpected new reality: China, the world's largest importer, needs much less fuel than previously thought.

China's Hengli Petrochemical, sanctioned by the U.S. for allegedly purchasing Iranian oil, has bought at least 2 million barrels of West African crude and is seeking further mainstream supply, several trade sources said, as the refiner looks to get off the U.S. blacklist.

Oil product stocks in Asia's key trading hub Singapore fell to their lowest levels in nearly 13 years, led by a sharp drawdown in residual fuel inventories as the Middle East conflict continues, official data showed on Thursday.

The deputy head of China's National Energy Administration met with an executive of Saudi Aramco in Beijing on Tuesday, the administration said in a statement on Thursday.

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