Asian refiners expect Saudi Arabia to lower prices for crude supply to the region in August, a Reuters survey showed, even as the top oil exporter pledged to deepen production cuts in July as part of a broader OPEC+ deal.
Saudi Arabia in June unexpectedly raised prices for July-loading cargoes, eating into Asian refiners' margins, Reuters reported.
To support global prices depressed by rising interest rates and recessionary fears, the producer volunteered to cut output by 1 million barrels per day in July on top of a broader OPEC+ deal to limit supply into 2024.
State oil company Saudi Aramco is expected to cut the official selling price for Arab Light crude in August by about 50 cents a barrel from the previous month, according to a Reuters survey of six refining sources.
The July OSP for the flagship grade hit a six-month high of $3 a barrel above the average of Dubai and Oman quotes.
"Saudi needs to trim prices to reflect the market movements. They have gone a bit too far from the reality in the past few months," said one survey respondent.
