Saudi Arabia increases the price of crude oil to Asia and US

Saudi Arabia raises the price of oil to Asia and US


Saudi Arabia, the worlds’ largest exporter, has raised the price of crude oil for the US and Asia with effect from December.

As for Asia, the Arab light crude has gone up by 60 cents. The rise in price will affect the key customers of the Kingdom in the region that account for 60% of its exports; they include China, Japan, South Korea and India.

The Saudis have been increasing the price of crude oil for Asia and the US from time to time this year. On the other hand, there are instances when they reduced the price for the regions too; in short, the Kingdom listens to the grievances of its loyal customers when the latter feel the pinch – and then respond favourably.  

Saudi Aramco, the state oil company, however, showed reluctance when the very nations joined the chorus of global calls to increase the production that ultimately led to the joint release of strategic petroleum reserves, SPRs, led by the US.

Saudi Arabia may have been prompted to make the move in light of clear signs of economic recovery in Asia despite the outbreak of Omicron variant of the Coronavirus, despite the forecast of an oil glut in the first quarter of 2022.

The Kingdom, meanwhile,  has been monitoring the progress – or lack of it – of the ongoing talks over the JCPOA, 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Since the momentum of the talks has reached a point close to stalling, the possibility of Iran, the regional rival of the Kingdom, opening floodgates to the crude markets is slowly going up in smoke.

In these circumstances, Saudi Aramco saw an opportunity to compensate for the losses due to falling prices during the past two weeks.

The rise of crude oil price comes at a time, when the price of LNG, liquefied natural gas, continue to fall in the energy markets, despite northern hemisphere being in the winter season.

The consuming nations in Asia have not reacted publicly about the rise in crude oil price for the region. They, however, must have been frustrated by the move, especially at a time when the world as a whole has been forced to deal with the new outbreaks of the Coronavirus.

They can only hope that Aramco will bring the price down at a certain point in time while sensing the pulse of the nations in the region – as the former has done a few times in the past. 

Popular Posts

Wil Iran attack Israel soon? Only time will tell!

Image
  Credit: Google Maps With Iran's threat against Israel in a direct strike, the tension in the Middle East went up a few notches on the scale of uncertainty, as the United States made it clear once again that it would not be a passive observer if a conflict erupts. The rising tension came in the wake of the daring attack carried out by Israeli F-35 fighter jets on the building that was adjacent to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, the Syrian capital. Seven Iranian nationals, along with a few Syrians, died in the attack, two of them were from the elite Iranian IRGC - Republican Guards; they were very high ranking officers. In response to the attack, Ayatollahs Ali Khamenei, the Iranian  supreme leader, said that Israel will be punished in kind, during an Eid message on Wednesday; he did not imply in what form the retaliation could come; nor did he say whether it was imminent, leaving the ambiguity open to interpretation by military and political analysts. The supreme leader, however,
Read more

Will Venezuela manage to extend the period of waiver of sanctions?

Image
  Chart:www.oilfutures.co.uk | Data: OPEC As the 53rd JMCC, Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, of the OPEC+ is scheduled to take place on April 3, analysts are looking at every possible scenario that could rise in the aftermath of such a meeting. A consensus has already emerged among them that the OPEC+ would stick to its production quota for each member country. That means the official position of the OPEC+ will maintain the current production cuts as long as necessary, without increasing the production to appease the influential customers.  The cartel wants to stick to the production targets, already agreed upon, in 2024 without unnecessarily worries about the potential consequences.  With the OPEC+ sticking to it guns, without increasing the output, the top consumers of oil turned to Venezuela to buy it on the cheap as the former was given a waiver to increase the production and then sell, provided that free and fair elections will be held before the waiver expires. Venezuela i
Read more

The Sun goes on Vacation: total solar eclipse - April 8, 2024

Image
Total Solar Eclipse: April 8, 2024: Vivax Solutions The lucky folks along a relatively narrow geographical band, from Mexico all the way to Canda, are going to witness a rare celestial spectacle on Monday, April 8 – a total solar eclipse. The path of totality – where people can witness total darkness - cuts across fifteen US states, before rolling into Canada in its final mesmerising leg. In mathematical proportion to the excitement, the enviably famous American entrepreneurial spirit has already gone into full swing: the hotel bookings, closer to the path of totality, have gone up exponentially and so have the prices; in addition, traders lost no time in springing into action in promoting related merchandise and of course, safety goggles, while implying that exercising caution before looking heavenward is a virtue, indeed.    The excitement that borders on ecstasy is perfectly understandable: astronomical charts show that there will not be another total eclipse for twenty years th
Read more

Latest Energy News from EIA