Saudi Arabia unexpectedly cuts oil prices to Asia

[CAIRO] Saudi Arabia unexpectedly cut crude oil prices for Asian buyers for November loadings, while raising official selling prices (OSPs) for north-west Europe and the Mediterranean, and keeping prices unchanged for the US.

The largest Middle Eastern crude exporter set the November Arab Light crude oil official selling price to Asia at US$5 a barrel below the average of Oman and Dubai prices, down US$3 from the previous month.

The discount for November is the widest since June 2020, according to Reuters data.

This was against expectations of a US$3 a barrel hike for its November OSP in a Reuters survey in line with gains seen in Middle Eastern benchmarks.

State oil company Saudi Aramco made deeper cuts of US$5 a barrel for the November OSPs of heavier grades – Arab Medium and Arab Heavy – sold to Asia.

Aramco has been looking at offering discounts for oil loaded off Oman to compensate buyers for record freight rates, people familiar with the matter said last week, as it sought to protect its market share after regional conflict hit exports.

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Asean Intelligence

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Separately, Saudi Aramco raised the November OSPs for north-west Europe by US$3 a barrel across all grades after it resumed exports from the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

Aramco kept prices unchanged for buyers in the US.

Saudi Arabia and other members of Opec+ agreed on Sunday (Oct 4) to keep oil production targets steady for November, in line with expectations that further output policy adjustments are unlikely until 2027. REUTERS