Saudi Arabia Hikes Oil Prices in Asia

Saudi Arabia's state-owned Aramco oil company has announced a hike of its April oil prices for Asian customers, Asian media said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, announced on Wednesday a price increase of $0.25 per barrel for its Asian deliveries in April, the Indonesian Republika newspaper reported, citing a statement made by the company.

The move comes despite crude prices peaking at some of the highest values in weeks, with the Brent benchmark approaching and occasionally rising above $37 per barrel since the start of March. The OPEC basket, which includes Aramco's Arab Light benchmark, reached its highest value since January 4, standing at $31.65 per barrel on Thursday.

Aramco also boosted its prices for Western Europe, increasing the value of Arab Light by $0.35 per barrel, with other crudes increased by $0.20 per barrel.

Asia, including China, Japan, India and South Korea is Saudi Arabia's main export market accounting for some half of Saudi exports.

Global oil prices plunged from $115 to less than $30 per barrel between June 2014 and January 2016, hitting their lowest levels since 2003 amid an ongoing glut in global oil supply. The slump has caused significant financial problems for many oil exporting countries.