SAUDI RAISES PRICING OF ASIA CRUDE

DUBAI — Saudi Arabia raised pricing for the medium and heavy crudes it sells to Asia, a sign that Opec’s biggest producer sees robust demand for the grades as it boosts output to offset the impact of energy sanctions on Iran.

Saudi Aramco increased its official selling price for December sales of Medium crude to Asia by 20 cents, to 70 cents a barrel more than the Middle East benchmark, the company said. That puts the medium grade at its highest premium since January 2014. Aramco raised pricing for Heavy crude by 40 cents, narrowing a discount to the benchmark to 25 cents a barrel. Both grades are similar to Iranian crude.