Riyadh: Saudi Aramco raised official selling prices for all crude grades for customers in Asia and the Mediterranean and increased most prices to the US and northwest Europe for January.
The company increased the formula price the most for Arab Super Light crude, a grade sold only to Asia, according to an e-mailed statement yesterday. The grade will cost $1.90 (Dh6.97) a barrel more in January, rising to a $5.25 premium above the average of Oman and Dubai oil, the two Gulf benchmarks used by traders.
Saudi Arabia's state-owned producer set the price for its Extra Light crude oil for January loadings for US buyers at a premium of $2.50 a barrel over the Argus Sour Crude Index, $1.10 a barrel more than December cargoes. Light crude rose 50 cents to a 25 cents-a-barrel premium for US buyers. Aramco left Arab Medium unchanged and cut Arab Heavy 40 cents to a $3.75 a barrel discount for US buyers.
The largest Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) member and the group's de-facto leader, Saudi Arabia has led production cuts announced in 2008 to support prices. Opec decided at its last meeting in Vienna to leave quotas unchanged and member countries meet again this week in Quito, Ecuador to review output levels and demand.
