Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company raised March crude selling prices more than 5 per cent to the highest since November, following gains in Saudi Arabia's main grades to the United States and Asia.
The move comes at a time when oil prices reached an 18-month high on Monday, after data on Friday showed the US added the most jobs in three years, boosting prospects for economic recovery in the world's top oil consumer.
The Abu Dhabi-based company increased the price for Murban crude, its largest export grade, to $78.30 (Dh287.60) a barrel, it said in an emailed statement on Monday.
The UAE, holder of almost 8 per cent of the world's oil reserves, is the fourth-largest producer in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, pumping 2.3 million barrels of crude a day last month.
The federation, which exports most of its crude oil to Asia, has the capacity to produce about 2.8 million barrels a day, Mohammad Bin Dha'en Al Hamili, Minister of Energy, said last month.
Abu Dhabi, holder of most of its oil resources, raised the price for Upper Zakum crude by $3.70 a barrel, or 5.1 per cent, to $76.25 a barrel for March, the smallest margin of increase.
Saudi Aramco, the world's largest state-owned oil company, raised official selling prices for light crude grades for customers in the United States and Asia for May. Abu Dhabi raised its retroactive March prices on all grades.
