SINGAPORE: Saudi Aramco raised its January official selling price (OSP) for Arab Light to Asia by 35 cents, slightly lower than forecast, to the Oman/Dubai average plus $3.30 a barrel.

The top exporter was expected to raise the OSP for Arab Light by 50 cents driven by product cracks and a bullish Dubai market, according to a median of estimates by Reuters. It has raised the price for Arab Light every month since September.

Aramco also raised prices of the medium and heavy grades. Traders were expecting Aramco to keep Arab Heavy prices unchanged for January.

“The light and medium had to go up because of the strong Dubai market, although given the fundamentals especially in the medium and heavy range, OSPs should have been cut,” a north Asian refiner said.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) cut the November retroactive selling price (OSP) of all its four crude grades, but their premiums to Dubai quotes increased from the previous month. It cut the OSP for Murban crude by $1.1 per barrel to $112.10 from $113.20 in October.

Reuters