Saudis Raise Asia Oil to Record Premium as War Upends Market

Saudi Arabia raised the price of its main oil grade to Asia to a record high premium, as a widening conflict in the Middle East and Iran’s near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz convulse energy markets.

State oil producer Saudi Aramco increased flagship Arab Light crude for sales next month to a premium of $19.50 over regional benchmarks for refiners in Asia, according to a price list seen by Bloomberg. Still, it was about half the level anticipated in a survey compiled by Bloomberg, with this month particularly hard to gauge given volatile Middle East indexes since the war and a plunge in prices toward the end of the month, traders said.