August 28, 2025 [Reuters]- Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, may cut October crude oil prices for Asian buyers amid ample supply and weaker demand, refining sources said.
The October official selling price for flagship Arab Light crude may decline 40-70 cents a barrel from September to between $2.50 and $2.80 a barrel, five refining sources said in a Reuters survey.
The October OSPs for other crude grades – Arab Extra Light, Arab Medium and Arab Heavy – could drop 40-60 cents a barrel compared with September, the survey showed.
These forecasts are in line with a 55-cent-per-barrel decrease in cash Dubai’s premium to swaps so far this month from last month.
Spot benchmarks rallied in June and July, boosted by strong demand from Asia and limited Saudi exports because of higher domestic demand during the hot summer weather.
Tracking the gains, state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco hiked its prices for Asian buyers for the previous two months, sending the September Arab Light price to a five-month high.
The elevated prices dampened buying interest. Some Chinese buyers switched to importing more discounted oil from Russia, while other Asian countries also increased buying U.S. crude.
That, combined with the resumption in Russian oil imports by Indian state refiners, pressured spot prices this month.
It remains to be seen, however, how India’s Russian oil purchases will be affected by the punitive tariffs imposed by the U.S. on the country starting from Wednesday.
A sizeable price cut is needed if Saudi Arabia wants to attract demand, one of the survey respondents said.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, accelerated output hikes to regain market share, raising the supply outlook that weighed down global oil prices.
Saudi crude OSPs are usually released around the fifth of each month, and set the trend for Iranian, Kuwaiti and Iraqi prices, affecting about 9 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude bound for Asia.
Saudi Aramco sets its crude prices based on recommendations from customers and after calculating the change in the value of its oil over the past month, based on yields and product prices.
