Saudi Arabian Crude Grades to Get Costlier for Asia?

Leading oil producer Saudi Arabia is likely to hike prices of all crude grades it exports to Asia in July.

Arslan Butt•Thursday, May 30, 2019•1 min read

Leading oil producer Saudi Arabia is likely to hike prices of all crude grades it exports to Asia in July. Its flagship Arab Light crude could get costlier by up to $1 per barrel, touching the highest level since January 2014.

US’s decision to impose more sanctions on Venezuela and the Russian oil crisis have tightened crude supply in Asian markets, causing Middle East crude benchmarks to continue rising for a third consecutive month.

Oil refiners in Singapore, South Korea and Thailand are planning to cut down crude output over declining profit margins. However, Saudi Arabia has not yet decided on the extent of price hikes for various crude grades.

Saudi crude OSPs are typically published around the fifth of every month, and the trend in these prices are then followed by Iran, Iraq and Kuwait. Any change in Saudi OSPs impact over 12 million bpd of crude that Asia imports.

So far today, WTI crude oil prices have risen slightly higher and are trading at $59.15 per barrel.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR See More

Arslan Butt

Index & Commodity Analyst

Arslan Butt serves as the Lead Commodities and Indices Analyst, bringing a wealth of expertise to the field. With an MBA in Behavioral Finance and active progress towards a Ph.D., Arslan possesses a deep understanding of market dynamics. His professional journey includes a significant role as a senior analyst at a leading brokerage firm, complementing his extensive experience as a market analyst and day trader. Adept in educating others, Arslan has a commendable track record as an instructor and public speaker. His incisive analyses, particularly within the realms of cryptocurrency and forex markets, are showcased across esteemed financial publications such as ForexCrunch, InsideBitcoins, and EconomyWatch, solidifying his reputation in the financial community.