Saudi and foreign investors stand in front of the logo of Aramco during the 10th Global Competitiveness Forum on January 25 in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, raised pricing for December sales of all oil grades to Asia, according to people with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg reported. State-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co, known as Saudi Aramco, increased its official pricing for Arab Light crude to Asia by 90 cents a barrel, to a premium of 45 cents over the regional benchmark, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information wasn’t public. The company had been expected to increase pricing for shipments of Arab Light by 85 cents a barrel, says the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of six refiners and traders in the region. Saudi Aramco narrowed the discounts for its Arab Medium and Arab Heavy grades to Asia and raised the premiums for Arab Extra Light and Arab Super Light to the region, the people said. Oil has gained about a quarter this year amid efforts by Opec to limit production to reduce a global supply glut, which contributed to a drop in crude prices to about half their 2014 levels.
