Saudi Arabia has set the official selling price of May Arab Light crude oil to Asia at a record premium of $19.50 a barrel above the Oman/Dubai average, an increase of $17 from the previous month, a pricing document reviewed by Reuters showed on Monday.
The sharp jump comes at a time when Middle East oil has become the world’s most expensive as the US-Israel war on Iran limited shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint for a fifth of the world’s oil supplies.
It remains unclear when a ceasefire will be reached or when oil exports from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain can resume through the strait.