Saudi Arabia raised the official selling prices of its crude for Asian buyers following the extension of the Opec+ production cut agreement until the end of the first half of the year.
The price for the country’s flagship Arab Light grade was raised by $0.20 per barrel over the Oman/Dubai average, Reuters reported, meaning April deliveries will cost $1.70 per barrel more than the Oman/Dubai average, up from $1.50 per barrel this month.
At the same time, Aramco lowered its prices for European buyers, by between $0.60 and $0.70 per barrel. Prices for sales to the United States were virtually unchanged.
Meanwhile, oil prices climbed about 2 per cent on Wednesday on a smaller-than-expected build in US crude inventories, a big withdrawal from distillate and gasoline stockpiles and remarks by the Federal Reserve chief that he still expects US interest rate cuts this year.
Lower interest rates could increase demand for oil by boosting economic growth.
Brent futures rose $1.65, or 2.0 per cent, to $83.69 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $2.07, or 2.7 per cent, to $80.22.
Brent was on track for its first daily rise in five days.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said energy firms added a smaller-than-expected 1.4 million barrels of crude into stockpiles during the week ended March 1.
For crude stocks, that compares with the 2.1-million barrel build analysts forecast in a Reuters poll and the 0.4-million barrel build shown in data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), an industry group.
