Saudi Arabia May Cut June Arab Light OSP To Asia

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia may cut the price for its flagship Arab Light crude to Asia in June, as refiners hit by declining fuel prices consider reducing output, while China and India snap up cheap Russian crude, according to five respondents surveyed by Reuters.

• Saudi Aramco may reduce the official selling price (OSP) for its medium sour crude by 40 cents a barrel in June.
• The refining margin for a typical Asian refiner, which processes Middle Eastern crude, hit a six-month low of $2.35/bbl last Friday. Diesel margins have fallen 27% this month, while gasoline margins have slumped 49%.
• The market also expected China will soon issue new batch of refined product quotas, adding more supply to the already saturated market.
• As a result, the flow of Asia's spot Middle East crude oil trade deals slowed and some refiners are pondering run cuts even as many in the region already made schedule for maintenance in June-August.
• "If oil prices continue going up, the refineries will have to cut operations, or reduce purchases and run at low feedstock inventory before their overhauls come up," said one of the respondents.