Saudi Arabia has cut crude oil prices for customers in Asia (its core market). The price of the main Arab Light grade has dropped 25 cents from its May price and is now $2.55 above the regional benchmark, the agency said. Refiners and traders surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a larger reduction of 45 cents.

In contrast, Saudi Aramco’s state-owned Saudi Aramco increased all rates for European customers, while most prices for the U.S. were unchanged, Bloomberg reported. Asia accounts for about 60% of Saudi Aramco’s crude exports – much of it produced under long-term contracts whose prices are reviewed every month. Saudi Arabia’s biggest Asian customers are China, Japan, South Korea and India.

Saudi Arabia is the largest oil exporter in the world. Since May 1, the country has promised to reduce its production by 500,000 barrels per day until the end of the year. At the same time Russia extended until the end of the year its production reduction by 500,000 barrels per day; other members of OPEC + have also promised to reduce production. After that, the price of Brent, which had fallen to its lowest level since December 2021 (below $71 per barrel), went up again and at its peak exceeded $87 per barrel. However, since mid-April the July futures began to fall in price again, and by May 3 their value had fallen below $72 per barrel.

The price of oil is now influenced by investor concerns about the state of the U.S. economy and the global economy, the tense situation in the U.S. banking market after the collapse of the third bank in two months, as well as the weak statistics on production in China, Bloomberg said. OPEC+ will assess the decline in oil prices, which may be short-lived, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on May 3.

July Brent futures stand at $74.22 a barrel, up 2.37% from the closing price.

Earlier, we reported that Brent oil fell below $72 a barrel for the first time since March 20.