Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, raised oil prices for its Asian and European buyers by more than $1 per barrel for August, driven by expected growth in domestic crude demand and a forecasted rise in Chinese consumption.
State energy firm Saudi Aramco raised the official selling price for its flagship Arab light crude to Asia loading in August to $2.20 a barrel above the Oman/Dubai average, the highest in four month and $1 up from July, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The price hike exceeded expectations of 50-80 cents a barrel in a Reuters survey early last week.
The Gulf kingdom also increased the prices for all crude grades it sells to refiners in Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean by $1.40 a barrel from the previous month.
Aramco's price hikes came a day after eight OPEC+ members agreed to raise production by 548,000 barrels per day in August, higher than the 411,000 bpd expected by the market, further accelerating output increases.
The prices reflect higher crude demand in Saudi Arabia to meet peak summer power demand while buying appetite from Chinese refineries is strong as some of them lifted less volumes in previous months, two refining sources in Asia said.
Analysts are expecting Saudi to burn more crude oil this summer for power generation, limiting exports.
