Sources: Saudi Arabia keeps Arab Light crude sell price to Asia ‎unchanged for November

Three informed sources said today, Thursday, that Saudi Aramco kept the official selling price of Arab Light crude to its customers in Asia in November, unchanged from October, contrary to expectations to raise prices slightly.

According to “Reuters”, this move surprised traders, as the largest exporting country in the world was expected to raise prices slightly to match the rise in benchmark prices for Middle Eastern crudes last month.

Traders were preparing themselves for the possibility of imposing further price increases after the oil producers agreed on Wednesday within the framework of the OPEC + group, which includes members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, to reduce production by two million barrels per day.

The sources said that Saudi Aramco set the official selling price for Arab Light crude to Asia in November at a premium of $5.85 per barrel over the Oman/Dubai average.

The sources stated that the company also kept the official selling price of Arab Extra Light crude in November unchanged, while reducing the price of Arab Extra Light crude by 10 cents.

The sources said that Saudi Aramco raised the prices of the Arab medium and heavy crudes in November by 25 cents from the previous month.

Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Wednesday that the real supply cut resulting from the OPEC + agreement will amount to between one million and 1.1 million barrels per day in response to high global interest rates and the weakness of the global economy.

Analysts expected that Saudi Arabia would bear a large share of the production cuts.