By Giulia Petroni
Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia raised the price of its oil grades to record premiums, as the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz choked off supplies out of the Persian Gulf and roiled global energy markets.
State oil producer Saudi Aramco on Monday set the official selling price for May loadings of its Arab Light crude to Asia--the largest destination for Middle Eastern crude--at $19.50 above the Oman/Dubai regional benchmarks, up from a premium of $2.50 a barrel in April.
Saudi's monthly crude pricing is closely watched by traders as a key indicator of the kingdom's outlook on regional demand. With shipping through Hormuz severely constrained, the country is rerouting crude exports via its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.
Prices for other grades of Saudi oil sold to Asia were also raised by $17 a barrel. Aramco hiked prices for grades sold Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean by $25 a barrel above regional benchmarks, while U.S. customers saw a $10 per barrel increase.
In early European trading on Tuesday, Brent crude was around $111 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate at $115 a barrel after President Trump set a Tuesday night deadline for Iran to reopen Hormuz, threatening to target bridges and electric plants.
Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies agreed to raise oil production quotas by 206,000 barrels a day for the month of May. The impact of the increase, however, will be limited because of the blockade of Hormuz.
The group also expressed concerns about attacks on energy facilities, warning costly and time-consuming repairs would affect overall supply availability.
Write to Giulia Petroni at giulia.petroni@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 07, 2026 03:03 ET (07:03 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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