Saudi Arabia raises cost of oil sales to Asia

FXStreet (Mumbai) - Saudi Arabia has decided to raise its cost of oil sales to Asia, triggering speculation that the oil exporter is diverging from its strategy of using record discounts to win market share.

Saudi Arabian Oil Co. said in a statement yesterday that it will sell its Arab Light grade for USD 1.40/barrel less than the regional average in February; down from the discount of USD given in January. It decreased 11 prices globally and increased six.

The state-owned producer, known as Saudi Aramco, raised prices for all its crude in Asia and cut all of them for Europe and most in the U.S.