Reuters
Larger-than-expected Saudi crude price hikes to Asia bullish for markets
Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has raised the price differential of its flagship crude to Asia by more than double in December versus November, exceeding market expectations and sending a bullish signal to the global oil market, traders said. The sharper-than-expected price hike comes after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, agreed last week to maintain a production hike of 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) for December despite consumers’ calls for higher output. On Saturday, state oil giant Saudi Aramco hiked the official selling price (OSP) for Arab Light crude by $1.40 to $2.70 a barrel above the average of Platts Dubai and DME Oman prices in December, its highest level since September.
