According to three Middle Eastern Gulf sources, Saudi Aramco has postponed the release of its official crude prices for July. The state-owned giant plans to release it on June 7.
Aramco has been delaying the price releases in the past few months to accommodate OPEC+ meetings or to enforce production cut decisions. As the nearest meeting date was postponed from the previously scheduled June 4, the price release could yet be subject to change.
Aramco’s pricing might be impacted by the result of the OPEC+ talks as the de facto leaders of the group, Saudi Arabia and Russia, both have agreed to prolong the current 9.7 million bpd output cuts into July.
Under the current pact, Saudi should cut its output at 8.49 million bpd until the end of this month, and 8.99 million bpd in the second half of the year.
Aramco’s delay affects its rival crude suppliers in the Gulf such as Iraq's Somo, Kuwait's KPC, and Iran's NIOC as they often mirror its month-on-month adjustments to boost the competitiveness of their crude.
