Saudi Arabia cuts February crude prices to Asia to 3-month low

SINGAPORE: The world's top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, has cut February's official selling price (OSP) to Asia for its Arab light crude to plus $2.20 a barrel versus Oman/Dubai crude.

The February OSP to Asia for the Arab light grade is the lowest in three months. State oil giant Saudi Aramco on Thursday set the February OSP for Arab Light crude to Asia $1.10 lower than the previous month, confirming what sources told Reuters earlier.

The company set the Arab Light OSP to Northwestern Europe at a discount of $1.80 a barrel versus ICE Brent, compared with minus $1.30 per barrel in January.

The OSP to the United States was set at plus $2.15 per barrel over ASCI (Argus Sour Crude Index), unchanged from the prior month. Saudi Aramco had been expected to make deep price cuts for February after Middle East benchmarks and spot prices slumped last month.

However, the sources said the price cuts were still smaller than industry expectations. For example, the OSP for Arab Light was expected to have fallen by at least $1.30 a barrel, a Reuters survey showed.