North Sea Crude-Forties steady ahead of June loading programmes

LONDON, April 28 (Reuters) -

* Forties differentials held unchanged on Thursday, as the impending release of the June loading programmes and a long weekend in London kept activity to a minimum.

* Forties diffs are set fall for a second month running in April, having drifted steadily back into negative territory after a brief foray above parity with the dated Brent price two months ago, driven lower by an overhang of unsold crude and a closed arbitrage window to Asia.

* No VLCCs are due to load Forties to sail for Asia so far this month. Two tankers are booked to make the voyage in May, according to Reuters shipping data, although these may not turn into actual shipments.

* Overall, loadings of the 12 North Sea crudes tracked by Reuters have been healthy this month, in spite of the lack of exports to Asia.

* Reuters data shows some 53.5 million barrels of oil have loaded onto vessels this month, marking a two-month high and up from around 45.6 million in April last year.

* The bulk of the BFOE loading programmes are due out on Tuesday, trading sources said.

WINDOW SUMMARY

* Petroineos bid for a cargo of Forties loading May 25-30 at a discount of 80 cents to the dated price.

* ENI (LSE: 0N9S.L - news) offered a cargo of Forties for loading May 20-22 at a discount of 45 cents to the dated Brent price.

* No trades, bids or offers were reported for any other benchmark grade. (Reporting by Amanda Cooper; Editing by David Evans)