Saudi Arabia may raise the price of crude oil in the Asian market in January

According to foreign news on December 1, traders said that following the sharp rise in the Middle East spot market last month, Saudi Arabia, the top oil exporter, may raise crude oil prices in the Asian market in January, but weak refining profit margins and oil reserves released by consumer countries may be affected.
Limit price increases
.


A survey of people from seven Asian refineries shows that the official price (OSP) of the flagship product, Arabian Light Crude Oil, may remain unchanged in January, or rise by as much as $1.
20, following a similar increase in the benchmark price of Dubai crude oil.
Last month, Dubai crude oil spot Strong demand
.


Traders said that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its ally OPEC will decide on Thursday whether to continue to increase production by 400,000 barrels per day in January, which will also affect how Saudi Arabia sets the OSP
.


Some analysts said that in addition to weighing the impact of the 50 million barrels of crude oil released from the United States, some analysts believe that this may lead to oversupply in the first quarter.
When countries re-implement border restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, OPEC will also Assess how Omicron's new coronavirus variant affects fuel demand
.


Since the news of Omicron shocked investors last Thursday, global oil prices have fallen by about $10 per barrel
.


  Two of the seven interviewees expect the price of Arabian Light Crude Oil to rise by more than US$1 in January, and the other three interviewees expect it to be between 50-80 cents
.
The remaining two expect prices to remain the same or increase by 10-20 cents
.


  The spot premium of some Middle Eastern and Russian crude oil hit a nearly two-year high due to tight supply and strong winter demand, but the release of SPR affected market sentiment
.


  One interviewee said that with the release of SPR, there was an oversupply and the profit margin of oil refining fell sharply
.
He was referring to the decline in Singapore’s comprehensive refining profit margin from about US$8 to US$2
.


  "The uncertainty of new coronary pneumonia has also emerged," he added
.


  Another trader said that supply from other regions has improved and Saudi crude oil prices will have to remain competitive
.


  The official price of Saudi oil is usually announced around the 5th of each month and sets a benchmark for the oil prices of Iran, Kuwait and Iraq, which will affect 9 million barrels of crude oil per day for the Asian market
.


  The state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco set the official price of crude oil after calculating the changes in the value of oil in the past month and based on customer recommendations, revenue and product prices
.


  Out of policy considerations, Saudi Aramco officials do not comment on Saudi official monthly crude oil prices
.