Saudi Aramco, the world’s top oil exporter, has raised oil prices for customers in Asia and the US in 2022. The decision was announced a few days after the OPEC+ meeting. At their last meeting, the members of the cartel opted to ramp up the output by 400,000 barrels per day. Against this backdrop, state-owned company Saudi Aramco, the leading oil producer in Saudi Arabia, introduced a price hike for crude delivery to the US, Asia, and Europe. According to Bloomberg, the oil producer raised the price for its Arab Light crude for the Asian region by $0.6 - $2.8 per barrel. Other oil grades jumped between 40 and 70 cents per barrel. Official selling prices for US buyers were up by 30 cents per barrel. Aramco’s decision came days after OPEC+ confirmed its plan to increase oil production by 400,00 barrels per day. At the same time, many analysts doubt that OPEC+, the group of oil exporting countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, would be able to add this volume to the market as some of its members are currently facing supply problems. Since the beginning of 2022, Brent crude has surged by 20% on rising global consumption. In addition, crude stockpiles have considerably decreased in the past year.
