Saudi Aramco Cuts All Oil Pricing for September Sales to Asia

(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, lowered pricing for September sales of all crudes to Asia while raising prices to buyers in northwest Europe and the Mediterranean region.

State-owned Saudi Aramco cut pricing for its flagship Arab Light crude to buyers in Asia by 75 cents, to a $1.70 a barrel premium over the Oman-Dubai Middle Eastern benchmark, the company said on Sunday in an emailed statement. Traders and refiners that Bloomberg surveyed earlier had anticipated a premium of $1.80 a barrel to the benchmark.

Saudi Arabia agreed in July to curb production for nine additional months alongside its OPEC+ partners. Even so, the kingdom has been able to export more to China than ever before, as increasing volumes to Asia have been offset by declining sales to the U.S., where buyers are awash with domestic supplies.

• Pricing for other grades to Asia, Aramco’s biggest regional market, declined to premiums ranging from $3.05 a barrel for its Super Light grade to 65 cents for Heavy crude.
• Aramco kept prices for all grades to U.S. buyers unchanged relative to the Argus Sour Crude Index, leaving Light at a premium of $2.85 a barrel.
• For sales to northwestern Europe, the company raised pricing for Light crude by $2.65 to a discount of 5 cents a barrel against benchmark Brent.
• Aramco increased prices for all grades to Mediterranean buyers, raising Light by $2.70 to a premium of 40 cents over the benchmark.
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To contact the reporter on this story: Verity Ratcliffe in Dubai at vratcliffe1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nayla Razzouk at nrazzouk2@bloomberg.net, Bruce Stanley

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