Saudi Arabia's state oil giant Aramco has raised the June price for its Arab light crude oil to Asia by $1.40 a barrel from May, setting it at a discount of $5.90 to the Oman/Dubai average, according to a document seen by Reuters on Thursday.
The rise in the crude oil official prices (OSPs) to Asia are not in line with market expectations. Asian refiners were expecting Saudi Arabia to cut the prices of its crude for a fourth straight month in June after Middle East benchmarks slumped on poor refining margins as the coronavirus pandemic slammed demand, according to a Reuters survey.
OPEC and allies led by Russia, a group known as OPEC+, agreed last month to a record cut in output starting in May to prop up oil prices.
Aramco has also raised the June OSP of its Arab light crude oil to the United States, setting it at a premium of $0.75 per barrel versus ASCI, up $1.50 a barrel from May.
Aramco also increased its OSP for Arab light crude oil to northwest Europe by $6.55 a barrel, setting it at a discount of $3.70 per barrel to ICE Brent.
Saudi crude OSPs set the trend for Iranian, Kuwaiti and Iraqi prices, affecting more than 12 million barrels per day of crude bound for Asia.
