Saudi Arabia raises the price of oil for Asia. Omicron is not scary
As reported by Bloomberg , Saudi Arabia has raised oil prices for supplies to Asia and the United States, showing confidence in demand that is still strong despite the announcement of the Omicron variant and its spread.
The move comes days after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies – a group of 23 nations led by Saudi Arabia and Russia – surprised traders with their decision to increase crude oil production.
Saudi oil company Aramco raised January prices for all crude oils destined for delivery in Asia and the United States, according to a statement from the state producer. The company raised its key Arab Light grade for customers in Asia by 60 cents from December to $ 3.30 a barrel above its benchmark, the international reference price, Brent. We are at the highest levels since 2020, that is, since the beginning of the epidemic.
Prices for the United States will rise between 40 and 60 cents. Those for Europe, a relatively small market for Aramco, will instead be cut to gain market share. A selective and expansive marketing strategy.
OPEC + decided Thursday to proceed with an increase in production for the next month, even as new cases of Covid-19 threatened to weaken demand and with the cartel that predicts that the oil market will move from a supply deficit to a surplus in early 2022.
Brent crude fell 15% from late November to just under $ 70 a barrel, reducing this year's gain to 35%. The decline was linked to the spread of the Omicron variant as well as to some increases in the supplies of the OPEC + cartel, but, evidently, these fears are exaggerated, at least for Saudi Arabia. If the Covid nightmare ends, demand restarts and therefore expansion for oil countries. That is why they are following the epidemic closely.
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The article Saudi Arabia raises oil prices for Asia. Omicron is not scary comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/larabia-saudita-aumenta-il-prezzo-del-petrolio-per-lasia-omicron-non-fa-paura/ on Mon, 06 Dec 2021 11:30:47 +0000.