SINGAPORE: Middle East crude benchmarks slipped on Monday ahead of more supply expected but losses were kept in check after Saudi Arabia raised official selling prices (OSPs) for January.
State oil producer Saudi Aramco raised OSPs for all crude grades sold to key market Asia for a second straight month in January, tracking robust gains in Middle East spot market last month.
The price hikes, announced by the company on Sunday, were implemented despite a decision last week by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, to continue increasing monthly supplies by 400,000 barrels per day in January.
The January OSP to Asia for its flagship Arab Light crude to $3.30 a barrel versus Oman/Dubai crude, up $0.60 from December, the company said. The January differential is the highest in nearly two years, according to Reuters data.
Oil rises as OPEC+ poised to act if demand weakens
Indonesia has set the official Indonesia Crude Price (ICP) for Minas crude oil at $80.15 a barrel for November, up $7.90 from the previous month, a document from the Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources showed.
The November Minas alpha, or price difference to dated Brent, was set at minus $1.29 per barrel, up $1.04 from a month prior, the document showed.
In tenders, India's Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) bought 1 million barrels of Pazflor crude for January while Vietnam's PV Oil is seeking 80,000 barrels of Nam Con Son condensate for February delivery, sources said.
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