Saudi Aramco raises most Asia oil pricing amid robust demand

ASTANA. KAZINFORM Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude exporter, raised pricing on most oil grades for sale to Asia and the U.S. in July after the nation's energy minister said demand was robust.

State-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co. increased its official selling price for Arab Light crude by 35 cents a barrel to 60 cents more than the regional benchmark for sales to Asia, it said in an e-mailed statement. The company, known as Saudi Aramco, was expected to raise the premium for shipments of Arab Light crude by 40 cents a barrel to 65 cents a barrel more than the benchmark for buyers in Asia, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of five refiners and traders in the region last week.

Oil has rallied about 80 percent since January, making ministers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries confident that their two-year strategy of trying to win market share is working. OPEC agreed on Thursday to stick to its policy of unfettered production with ministers united in their optimism that oil markets are improving. European benchmark Brent crude gained as much as 0.9 percent to $50.10 a barrel in London trading. The July pricing sets Aramco’s light crude grades at the highest levels for Asia since at least September 2014, before OPEC adopted its market share strategy.

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