Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia raised its official selling prices for February for light crude oil to customers in the United States and Asia, state oil firm Aramco said on Sunday.
Buyers of Saudi oil had expected the price to rise as the kingdom cuts supply under an agreement with the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).
Saudi Arabia is Opec's most influential member and is shouldering the bulk of the 4.2 million bpd reduction in supply the group has agreed since September. The kingdom could deepen supply cuts in February, potentially taking output below its Opec target, as it strives to halt the $100 slide in oil prices since July, market sources said last week.
Aramco raised the February price of Arab Light to US customers by $2.80 a barrel to WTI minus $2.00. It raised the Arab Light price for customers in the Far East by 40 cents to the Oman/Dubai average minus 45 cents a barrel. Buyers in north-west Europe saw the price of light crude rise by 20 cents, while in the Mediterranean the price was steady. The following table details Saudi crude prices in dollars per barrel for February and January.