Saudi Arabia cut oil prices for its main market of Asia and for Europe, “signaling that demand remains sluggish as economies slow and coronavirus cases in China surge,” according to Bloomberg.
Oil princes have returned to almost the exact same price as one year ago: on January 5th, 2022, Brent settled just over $75 a barrel. In early June of last year, Brent had climbed to over $114 a barrel, the highest mark for the year, and has now steadily fallen back to $76 a barrel as of January 5th, 2023.
According to the Bloomberg, State-controlled Saudi Aramco reduced prices for all types of crude that will be shipped to Asia in February. The company’s flagship Arab Light grade “was lowered to $1.80 a barrel above the regional benchmark, $1.45 less than the price for this month. It’s now at its lowest level since November 2021.”
Saudi Arabia sells about 60% of its crude exports to Asia under long-term contracts, pricing for which is reviewed each month. China, Japan, South Korea and India are the biggest buyers.
