Saudi Arabia raises oil prices to Asia for fourth consecutive month: Report  

State-owned Saudi Aramco increased the price of its signature Arab Light to Asia in October by 10 cents to $3.60 a barrel over the benchmark, according to a price list obtained by Bloomberg. Although still the highest since December, the increase was less than the 30-cent increase predicted in a Bloomberg survey.

The de facto leader of OPEC increased prices for all grades by 20 cents a barrel to a record high for supply going to the US.

The action follows Saudi Arabia’s announcement this week that it will extend supply restrictions through December. It will maintain production at 9 million barrels per day, the lowest level in a number of years, as Russia extends its own export restrictions.

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This has given rise to optimism that 2023 will conclude strongly for the oil market. After months of supply restrictions, Brent crude futures recently surpassed $90 per barrel, and some traders are betting on $100.

There was some respite for European buyers who had recently experienced a run of significant price increases. The list revealed that Aramco reduced supply costs into the Mediterranean and Northwest Europe by 10 cents per barrel, while they are still historically high.

European consumers of the kingdom’s petroleum were forced to look for alternatives, and many have since switched to sweet, or low-sulfur, oil.

Since the beginning of the year, the price of higher sulphurous crude, which accounts for the majority of the Saudi supply cuts, has skyrocketed. As a result, benchmark Brent crude futures have occasionally traded at significant discounts to barrels of lower quality from the Middle East.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)

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