International oil prices rose on Monday, driven by the shock of Saudi Arabia’s surprise increase in crude export prices.
On July 6, Saudi Arabia raised the official selling price of its benchmark Arab Light crude for August deliveries to Asia by 1 USD per barrel.
This price hike came despite OPEC+ deciding on July 5 to boost production by 548,000 barrels per day in August, up from the 411,000 barrels per day increase maintained over the previous three months.
Although OPEC+ agreed to raise output, Saudi Arabia appears confident in its ability to maintain market control. This suggests the kingdom believes other members cannot significantly increase production.
The move has direct implications for South Korea, which sources over 70% of its oil imports from the Middle East, with more than 30% of that volume coming from Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s price hike triggered a rebound in oil markets.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, settled at 69.58 USD per barrel for September delivery, up 1.28 USD (1.87%) from the previous session.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for August delivery closed at 67.93 USD per barrel, gaining 0.93 USD (1.38%).
