Crude oil traded below $69 per barrel on Tuesday, hovering near its lowest level in more than four months as indications of rising supply continued to pressure prices, while vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz steadily recovered. Reports showed that at least eight Japan-linked ships exited the strategic chokepoint via a route near Iran, including five supertankers, each capable of carrying 2 million barrels of crude.
At the same time, Saudi Aramco cut the official selling price of its Arab Light crude for Asian buyers for next month by $11 a barrel, to a $1.50 discount to the regional benchmark, underscoring softer market conditions. The company has only priced this grade at a discount twice in recent history, during the oil price wars of 2020 and 2015. The latest price reduction followed an agreement by OPEC+ members, led by Saudi Arabia, over the weekend to raise production quotas for next month, reinforcing expectations of stronger global supply.
