Saudi Arabia trims Arab Light prices to Asia

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has trimmed 10 cents (36 fils) off its flagship Arab Light crude oil price for customers in Asia, who buy more than half of Saudi crude exports, an industry source said on Tuesday. Saudi Aramco has set the Arab Light price at Oman/Dubai plus $1.35 per barrel for August, down from $1.45 for July, the source said. The price for Arab Extra Light for customers in Asia next month was cut by 50 cents to Oman/Dubai plus $2.95, while the price of the same grade for US buyers was cut by 65 cents to the Argus Sour Crude Index (ASCI) plus $2.25. The world's largest crude oil exporter also raised its Arab Extra Light crude price to the Mediterranean market by 10 cents to the Brent weighted average (BWAVE) price minus $0.95. Article continues below It cut the price of the same grade of crude in north-west Europe by 95 cents to BWAVE minus $1.05 a barrel. Meanwhile, Qatar has set the retroactive official selling price (OSP) for Qatar Marine crude for June at $108.45 a barrel, down $1.15 from May, the official Qatar News Agency said on Tuesday. The differential against the average price of benchmark Dubai crude for June was at a premium of $0.68 a barrel, down from a premium of $1.22 a barrel in May. Qatar set the June Qatar Land crude OSP at $111.20 a barrel, down $1.45 from May, the report said. That represents a $3.43 a barrel premium to Dubai crude, lower than the $4.27 premium for May. Qatar is one of Opec's smallest members, pumping around 800,000 barrels per day.