Saudi Aramco "Oil Price Increase in Major Asian Countries Next Month"

Asian Indian Arab Light Crude Oil Up 40 Cents
US and European Indian Crude Prices Down... "Slow Demand Recovery"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Aramco is reportedly planning to raise the price of oil deliveries to major Asian countries starting next month. In contrast, prices for deliveries to the United States and Europe, where demand recovery has been slow, are expected to be lowered, indicating that oil-producing countries' dependence on Asia will increase further.

According to Bloomberg News on the 4th (local time), Aramco plans to simultaneously raise the price of crude oil sold to the Asian region starting next month. In particular, the price of its main export grade, Arab Light, is expected to increase by 40 cents per barrel (approximately 4,500 KRW), with major grades seeing price hikes ranging from 20 to 50 cents per barrel.

On the other hand, the price of crude oil exported to the U.S. and Europe is expected to be reduced. For Arab Light, the European delivery price will be lowered by 20 cents per barrel, and the U.S. delivery price will be reduced by 10 cents per barrel. Most other grades are expected to maintain their current prices. Since June of last year, Aramco has been selling Asian export oil at a premium over the benchmark grades.

Bloomberg News analyzed, "After the oil-producing coalition OPEC Plus (OPEC+) agreed to gradually increase oil production over three months starting next month, Aramco raised the export oil prices for Asia," adding, "Aramco views oil demand in the Asian region as quite robust." Bloomberg also reported that, centered on China, where demand recovery has been rapid since the COVID-19 pandemic, oil-producing countries' dependence on Asian exports will deepen further.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.