The increase was against market expectations that the top oil exporter will cut prices for all crude grades it sells to Asia in May to reflect weaker prices for its Middle East benchmark Dubai crude, according to a Reuters survey this week.

Aramco cut the OSPs for the other grades it sells to Asia, but raised the price for the Arab Light crude.

The company also raised its Arab Light OSP to Northwest Europe by 20 cents for May from the previous month at a discount of $2.95 a barrel to the ICE Brent.

The Arab Light OSP to the United States was set at a premium of $0.60 a barrel to the Argus Sour Crude Index (ASCI) for May, down 10 cents a barrel from the previous month.

Saudi crude OSPs set the trend for Iranian, Kuwaiti and Iraqi prices, affecting more than 12 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude bound for Asia.

Aramco sets its crude prices based on recommendations from customers and after calculating the change in the value of its oil over the past month, based on yields and product prices.

The tables below show the full FOB prices for May in US dollars. Saudi term crude supplies to the United States are priced as a differential to the Argus Sour Crude Index (ASCI).