Saudi Arabia cuts crude pricing for Asian, US clients

The company cut November pricing for its Light, Medium and Heavy grades to the US by 30 cents a barrel each.

Saudi Arabia on Sunday cut pricing for November oil sales to Asia and the US, citing stiff competition from other non-OPEC oil producers and weak demand.

Saudi Arabian Oil Co. reduced its official selling price for Medium grade crude to Asia next month to a discount of US$3.20 a barrel below the regional benchmark, compared with a US$1.30 discount for October sales, the company said in a statement.

The discount for the Medium grade to Asia, the main market for Saudi crude, widened by the most since the state- owned company made a US$2 per barrel cut in February 2012, according to reports.

Saudi Aramco widened the discount for Arab Light crude to Asia by US$1.70 a barrel to US$1.60 a barrel less than the benchmark, according to the official statement.

The company cut November pricing for its Light, Medium and Heavy grades to the US by 30 cents a barrel each.

Medium crude will sell at a discount of 85 cents a barrel to the regional benchmark, the widest since March.

Saudi Aramco raised price levels for the same three grades for buyers in Northwest Europe while trimming pricing on Light, Medium and Heavy sold to the Mediterranean region.