Saudi Arabia raises July crude prices after OPEC+ extends cuts
The market was expecting a rise in the Saudi official selling price (OSP) for the crude it sells to Asia next month to track a jump in Middle East benchmarks, but the increase was more than expected
DUBAI: Saudi Arabia has raised the selling prices for its crude grades to all destinations for July, a day after OPEC, led by Riyadh, and its allies agreed to extend record oil production cuts until the end of July.
State oil giant Saudi Aramco has raised the July price for its Arab light crude to Asia to plus $0.20 a barrel, up $6.10 from June, it said in a statement on Sunday.
The market was expecting a rise in the Saudi official selling price (OSP) for the crude it sells to Asia next month to track a jump in Middle East benchmarks, but the increase was more than expected.
Saudi Arabia was expected to raise the July OSP for Arab Light crude by $3.80 a barrel on average, a Reuters survey found.
The hike in the OSPs may discourage more demand for Saudi crude, and would force other Gulf oil producers to follow the increase in pricing.
Riyadh has said it would reduce its crude output in June by 1 million barrels per day, more than its commitment under the OPEC+ pact, but it did not say whether it would continue with this voluntary additional reduction in July.
Aramco has also raised the July OSP of its Arab light crude oil to the United States, setting it at a premium of $1.35 per barrel over ASCI (Argus Sour Crude Index), up $0.60 a barrel from June, the document showed.
Aramco also increased its OSP for Arab light crude oil to Northwestern Europe to plus $0.30 a barrel over ICE Brent, up $4 from the previous month.
Saudi crude prices set the trend for Iranian, Kuwaiti and Iraqi prices, affecting more than 12 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude bound for Asia.
Saudi Arabia’s oil exports plunge $11 billion in first quarter: Data
Brent crude prices fell more than 60% in the quarter hurt by the coronavirus pandemic and an oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia following the collapse of talks on further production cuts.
DUBAI: The value of Saudi Arabia’s oil exports plunged by 21.9% year on year in the first quarter to $40 billion, corresponding to a decline of about $11 billion, official data showed on Sunday.
Brent crude prices fell more than 60% in the quarter hurt by the coronavirus pandemic and an oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia following the collapse in March of talks on further production cuts.
The decline in oil exports was the main reason behind a 20.7% decline in the value of overall merchandise exports in the first quarter, the General Authority for Statistics said on Sunday.
Non-oil exports, including chemicals and plastics, fell by 16.5%, it said.
China was the main destination for Saudi exports in Q1, followed by Japan and India. China was also the main origin for Saudi imports.
Saudi Arabia posted a $9 billion budget deficit in the quarter as oil revenue fell by 24% to $34 billion.
