paving decision Saudi Arabia By pricing some of its oil products at lower levels than expected, the road to intense competition in Asia Among the producers who supply the region with crude.
The kingdom set the price of Arab Light Crude for September at about $1 a barrel lower than the figure predicted by a Bloomberg survey. The price of the lighter crude, known as Arab Extra Light crude, was raised by only 30 cents, a move that surprised traders who had expected larger monthly adjustments.
Saudi Arabia raises oil prices destined for Asia to a record level
While the price of Arab Light crude is still at a record level, dealers said that “Aramco“The state-owned likely opted for modest price increases to stay competitive against Asia arbitrage. This comes after weak pricing of grades Brent and West Texas Intermediate in London against the Middle East standards indicated in Saudi pricing.
Traders said there were events that supported more oil flows from the Atlantic basin to Asia, such as the return of oil supplies. oil Libya, the sharp reversal in the sharpness of spot prices over Brent crude futures, and the unusually low demand for gasoline in the United States during what is supposed to be the peak driving season.
Asian refiners have begun grabbing light crude from the United States for November delivery. . score displayed West Texas Midland offered a premium of about $8 a barrel to benchmark Dubai prices for buyers from North Asia this week, traders said, down from $15 to $16 last month. They added that Indian refineries are also buying some Libyan crude.
Lighter grades of crude tend to produce more distillates such as gasoline when refined. Asian refining margins for vehicle fuels have fallen by more than 80% since late June, lowering overall profits from converting crude oil to fuel.