Saudis cut oil prices from record highs amid China lockdowns

Saudis cut oil prices from record highs amid China lockdowns

Saudi Arabia cut oil prices for buyers in Asia as coronavirus lockdowns in China weigh on demand, countering uncertainty around Russia’s supplies as the Ukraine crisis drags on. Saudi Aramco is lowering prices for the first time in four months. The state-controlled company dropped its key Arab Light crude grade for next month’s shipments to Asia to $4.40 a barrel above the benchmark it uses, from $9.35 in May. That’s in line with a survey of refiners and traders from late April that forecast a $5 decrease. Aramco also lowered all grades for the north west Europe region and almost all for the Mediterranean. Prices for US customers were kept unchanged from May. Saudi Arabia raised its crude to record levels in the past two months after prices surged above $100 a barrel when Russia invaded Ukraine. Russian exports have already fallen and may drop further as the European Union moves closer to formally sanctioning energy supplies from the country. While the crisis has tightened the global oil market, Beijing’s Covid Zero strategy has lead to China’s largest demand shock since the early days of the pandemic. Consumption of gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel last month was expected to slide