Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has cut the price of flagship crude grade Arab Light to its Asian customers for November, state oil giant Saudi Aramco said yesterday, tracking weakness in the Dubai benchmark.
Saudi Aramco has cut its November price for its Arab Light grade for Asia by 25 US cents a barrel versus October to a discount of 45 cents a barrel to the Oman/Dubai average, it said yesterday.
The company typically sets its crude prices based on changes in the Dubai market structure as well as recommendations from customers and after calculating changes in the price of its oil over the past month, based on yields and product prices.
Four refiners expected the official selling price (OSP) for Arab Light to fall by 20 cents to 50 cents a barrel in November from the previous month, according to a Thomson Reuters survey.
Aramco also cut the price for its Arab Medium to Asia by 10 cents and Arab Heavy by 50 cents from October levels.
Saudi crude OSPs set the trend for Iranian, Kuwaiti and Iraqi prices, affecting more than 12mn barrels per day (bpd) of crude bound for Asia.
Aramco lifted prices for its crude in October, tracking a stronger Dubai benchmark and a recovery in Asia’s refining margins.
Its October prices were higher than expected to compensate for a deep cut in light grades in September, traders said.
Aramco has scheduled maintenance at its Yanbu and Ras Tanura refineries in November and December, which could mean more Arab Light and Arab Heavy crude exports during the shutdowns, trade sources said.
The state oil company dropped its Arab Light OSP to Northwest Europe by 45 cents a barrel for November from the previous month at a discount of $5.20 a barrel to the Brent Weighted Average (BWAVE).