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Saudi Arabia may cut Asian oil prices as demand falls
Saudi Arabia may cut the official price of its Light oil for September sales to Asia as a slump in demand for diesel fuel and gasoline reduced refiners’ crude purchases in the past month, refinery officials said.
Saudi Arabian Oil Co., the world’s biggest state-owned producer, may reduce Arab Light, the country’s largest export grade, by an average of US$1.30 a barrel, according to a survey of refiners from South Korea, Japan, Singapore and India.
The company is expected to set new official levels this week. Extra Light may fall by $1.40 a barrel, said the traders who asked not to be identified, citing confidentiality agreements.
Saudi Arabian Oil, known as Saudi Aramco, last month raised Arab Light by 10 cents to a premium of $1.50 a barrel to the average of Persian Gulf benchmark’s Oman and Dubai. That was the highest price since July 2008. Asian refiners have been reducing their output as falling consumer demand has cut their so-called crack spreads, or profit margins.
thanhnien, bloomberg
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