Saudi Arabia May Cut Oil Prices for Asian Buyers in July
Four Asian refineries, citing increased oil supply from members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their allies in the OPEC+ coalition, have indicated that Saudi Arabia — the world’s largest oil exporter — may lower its official selling price (OSP) for crude oil shipments to Asia in July.
According to market expectations, the OSP for Arab Light crude for July delivery may drop by 40 to 50 cents per barrel, reaching a range of 90 cents to one dollar above regional benchmarks. Reuters data shows that such a reduction would mark the lowest price level for Arab Light since January this year.
Saudi Arabia typically announces its official selling prices at the beginning of each month. These prices serve as key benchmarks for crude oil pricing from Iran, Kuwait, and Iraq, and directly affect around 9 million barrels per day of oil exports to Asia.
Survey results also suggest that the OSPs for other Saudi crude grades — including Arab Extra Light, Arab Medium, and Arab Heavy — could fall by 30 to 45 cents per barrel in July compared to June.
Global oil prices have been on a downward trend since the recent OPEC+ decision to gradually phase out voluntary output cuts amounting to 2.2 million barrels per day over April, May, and June. In practice, this has meant the return of about 1 million barrels per day to the global market during this period.
