Saudi Arabia expected to raise February crude prices for Asia: Survey

SINGAPORE: Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is expected to raise its official selling prices (OSPs) for Asian buyers for a second straight month in February, tracking stronger benchmark prices and product cracks, a Reuters survey showed on Wednesday.

Three sources at Asian refiners expect the February OSP for the flagship grade Arab Light to rise by 33 cents a barrel on average, with their forecasts ranging between an increase of 30 cents and 40 cents.

In December strong spot crude purchases pushed up the average differentials to Dubai swaps for the cash Dubai and DME Oman benchmarks by about 41 cents and 17 cents a barrel respectively from last month, data compiled by Reuters showed on Wednesday.