Saudi Aramco cuts May Arab Light crude price to Asia

Saudi Arabia cut the May official selling prices (OSP) for its light crude oil for Asian customers, in line with expectations, but raised the price for oil sales to the United States where crude stockpiles are at a record high.

State oil giant Saudi Aramco cut the price of its Arab Light by 30 cents per barrel versus April to a discount of $0.45 a barrel to the Oman/Dubai average, it said on Wednesday.

A Reuters survey of four refiners in Asia expected the producer to cut the OSP for flagship Arab Light crude by 10-40 cents a barrel in May from a month ago.

Aramco lowered the price of Arab Light to Northwest Europe by $0.45 a barrel to a discount of $4.35 per barrel to the Brent Weighted Average (BWAVE).

But it raised the price of Arab Light to the United States by $0.30 a barrel to a premium of $0.50 per barrel to the Argus Sour Crude Index (ASCI).

The move comes after a buildup in US crude inventories in recent weeks that has weighed on the market.

Total US crude inventories were at a record of nearly 534 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on March 29. (RTRS)