Saudi Arabia has announced its official crude pricing (OSP) for May after OPEC and its allies agreed the biggest output cut deal in history. Saudi Arabia raises prices for the US and keeps them flat for Europe.
The kingdom will sell oil cheaper to Asia. At a discount of $7.3 to the Oman/Dubai average, Aramco has set the May price down $4.2 a barrel from April for Arab light crude oil to Asia. After refining margins and Middle East benchmarks dropped, refiners in Asia have called on Saudi Arabia to trim its crude OSPs for a third straight month in May.
Up $3 a barrel from April, Aramco has raised the May OSP of its Arab light crude oil to the US to a discount of $0.75 per barrel versus the Argus Sour Crude Index (ASCI). At a discount of $10.25 per barrel to ICE Brent, Aramco left its OSP unchanged from April for Arab light crude oil to Northwestern Europe.
Oil market fundamentals and the global supply cut pact reflected by the OSPs to Europe and the US. Weak demand reflected by the cut in prices to Asia. Over the past few days, Aramco’s OSPs announcement has been delayed several times until after finalizing the OPEC+ reduction agreement.
