Saudi Aramco announced an increase in oil prices

At the beginning of the US market on Monday (April 4), WTI crude oil stood at the $103 mark, extending its intraday gains to 4%, and Brent crude oil rose 3%, as Saudi Arabia raised expectations for oil demand outlook, while the news of the release of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) by oil consumers failed to offset supply concerns
caused by the Russia-Ukraine war and the pending Iranian nuclear agreement.

Bloomberg news, on April 4, Saudi Aramco announced that it will increase the price of all oil for Asian customers in May, and raise the price of all categories for the
United States and Europe.
Saudi Aramco's official selling price (OSP), its main product for supplies to Asia, will be $9.
35/b above the average Oman/Dubai crude price in the Middle East, the Middle East benchmark, and jump sharply by $4.
40/b from April's price to a record level
.
Saudi Aramco's supply of Arab light crude oil to northwest Europe is set at $4.
60/b higher than Brent; OSP to the U.
S.
was also set at $5.
65/b higher than ASCI (Argus Acid Crude Oil Index), also setting a record
.

Giovanni Staunovo, commodities analyst at UBS, said: "This is a huge price
increase.
Saudi Arabia will only increase production
because of higher oil prices.
”

Crude oil prices fell about 13 percent
last week after U.
S.
President Joe Biden announced a record release of U.
S.
oil reserves and members of the International Energy Agency pledged to dump further reserves.
Crude prices peaked at $139 a barrel last month, the highest level
since 2008.

Stephen Brennock, an analyst at OTC oil broker PVM, said that all in all, the release of SPR will not fill the oil supply gap
caused by sanctions imposed on Russia and buyers' avoidance of Russian oil.

In the futures market, while oil prices have fallen back to levels close to before the market turmoil triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war, they remain at a spot premium (near-term prices are higher than forward prices), which is a bullish market structure
.
Vitol Group, the world's largest independent energy trader, warned that oil prices could rise again as they fell to levels
that did not reflect the risk of further disruptions to Russian exports.

Oil has also gained support for suspending negotiations to restart the Iran nuclear deal, which would allow the lifting of sanctions
on Iranian oil.
Iran on Monday accused the United States of stalling talks
.
According to CCTV news, on April 4, local time, Iranian Foreign Minister Abdollahian said in a phone call with Omani Foreign Minister Badr that the United States extended the Vienna talks due to "excessive demands" and criticized the new sanctions
imposed by the United States on Iranian individuals and entities.

The downward pressure on oil prices comes from a truce reached by Yemen's warring parties, which could ease supply threats
in the Middle East.
The war in Yemen has been going on for more than seven years
.
From 19:00 local time on April 2, the parties to the conflict in Yemen began a new round of humanitarian ceasefire
under the mediation of the United Nations.