AGL 38.54 Increased By ▲ 0.97 (2.58%)
AIRLINK 129.50 Decreased By ▼ -3.00 (-2.26%)
BOP 5.61 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.53%)
CNERGY 3.86 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (2.39%)
DCL 8.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-1.58%)
DFML 41.76 Increased By ▲ 0.76 (1.85%)
DGKC 88.30 Decreased By ▼ -1.86 (-2.06%)
FCCL 35.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.23%)
FFBL 67.35 Increased By ▲ 0.85 (1.28%)
FFL 10.61 Increased By ▲ 0.46 (4.53%)
HUBC 108.76 Increased By ▲ 2.36 (2.22%)
HUMNL 14.66 Increased By ▲ 1.26 (9.4%)
KEL 4.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-2.26%)
KOSM 6.95 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1.46%)
MLCF 41.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-0.36%)
NBP 59.60 Increased By ▲ 1.02 (1.74%)
OGDC 183.00 Increased By ▲ 1.75 (0.97%)
PAEL 26.25 Increased By ▲ 0.55 (2.14%)
PIBTL 5.97 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (2.4%)
PPL 146.70 Decreased By ▼ -1.70 (-1.15%)
PRL 23.61 Increased By ▲ 0.39 (1.68%)
PTC 16.56 Increased By ▲ 1.32 (8.66%)
SEARL 68.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.49 (-0.71%)
TELE 7.23 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.14%)
TOMCL 35.95 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.14%)
TPLP 7.85 Increased By ▲ 0.45 (6.08%)
TREET 14.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.28%)
TRG 50.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.40 (-0.79%)
UNITY 26.75 Increased By ▲ 0.35 (1.33%)
WTL 1.21 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 9,809 Increased By 41.1 (0.42%)
BR30 29,711 Increased By 311.1 (1.06%)
KSE100 92,304 Increased By 366.3 (0.4%)
KSE30 28,840 Increased By 96.6 (0.34%)

SINGAPORE: Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, raised September crude oil prices for Asian buyers to record high levels despite falling refining margins.

The official selling price (OSP) for September-loading Arab Light to Asia was raised by 50 cents a barrel from August to $9.80 a barrel over Oman/Dubai quotes, state oil producer Saudi Aramco said on Thursday, exceeding the previous record of $9.35 per barrel set in May.

The price hike was lower than market forecasts of 70 cents to $1 a barrel.

"Now all crude grades are getting cheaper, so Saudi needs to make its prices competitive. Otherwise traders will take spot cargoes (rather) than lift Saudi oil," said a Singapore-based trader.

The spread between Brent and Dubai narrowed to $6.55 a barrel on Thursday, a level last seen in late April, making Brent-linked grades more attractive to Asian buyers and putting pressure on regional grades.

Profit margins at Asian refiners who process Dubai crude plunged by as much as 96% in July, pressured by the prospect of a global economic recession and weakening fuel demand.

Oil prices stabilize after drop to near 6-month low

Refiners have been concerned that a further hike in crude oil prices could prompt refineries to trim output to manage their balance sheets.

The OSP for Arab Extra Light was increased by 30 cents to $10.95 a barrel, and for Arab Medium it was raised by 60 cents to $7.75 a barrel, both record levels.

Saudi Arabia set its Arab Light OSP to northwest Europe at plus $4.70 a barrel against ICE Brent for September, and to the United States at $6.15 a barrel.

Saudi's OSPs also came after OPEC+ agreed to raise its oil output goal by 100,000 barrels per day from September, although the market saw the increase as too small to have any meaningful impact on the supply.

Saudi term crude supplies to Asia are priced as a differential to the Oman/Dubai average:

===============================================
                   SEPT       AUG        CHANGE
 SUPER LIGHT       12.15      11.35      0.80
 EXTRA LIGHT       10.95      10.65      0.30
 LIGHT             9.80       9.30       0.50
 MEDIUM            7.75       7.15       0.60
 HEAVY             6.00       5.30       0.70
===============================================

Prices at Ras Tanura destined for United States are set against ASCI:

===============================================
                   SEPT       AUG        CHANGE
 EXTRA LIGHT       7.50       7.00       0.50
 LIGHT             6.15       5.65       0.50
 MEDIUM            5.45       4.95       0.50
 HEAVY             5.00       4.50       0.50
===============================================

Prices at Ras Tanura destined for Northwest Europe are set against ICE Brent:

===============================================
                   SEPT       AUG        CHANGE
 EXTRA LIGHT       6.50       8.00       -1.50
 LIGHT             4.70       5.30       -0.60
 MEDIUM            2.20       1.80       0.40
 HEAVY             -2.20      -2.60      0.40
===============================================

Prices at Ras Tanura for Saudi oil destined for the Mediterranean are set against ICE Brent:

===============================================
                   SEPT       AUG        CHANGE
 EXTRA LIGHT       6.50       8.00       -1.50
 LIGHT             4.70       5.10       -0.40
 MEDIUM            2.30       1.80       0.50
 HEAVY             -2.40      -2.80      0.40
===============================================

Comments

Comments are closed.