Saudi Arabia, the most active producer and exporter of oil in OPEC, has increased the official selling price of its crude grades for September loadings to its most important market, Asia.

Saudi Arabia raised the cost of Arab Light to the Far East in September by $0.50 per barrel, to $9.80 per barrel over the Oman/Dubai benchmark.

On the day following each monthly OPEC+ meeting, Saudi Arabia, the largest producer in OPEC, modifies the selling price of its crude oil. The group met on Wednesday to review the production schedule for September and finally decided to increase the quota by 100,000 bpd, of which 26,000 bpd would go to Saudi Arabia.

Additionally, Saudi Arabia increased the cost of crude oil going to the Mediterranean, North West Europe, and the United States. The prices of other OPEC producers routinely change in response to Saudi Arabia’s pricing decisions. Furthermore, it is commonly employed as a stand-in for Saudi Arabia’s perception of future oil demand.

The pricing change provides a more thorough view of the potential course of the market. OPEC boosted its production quota yesterday, signalling a larger need for output beyond its August target, which was already 648,000 bpd higher than in July. This action normally indicates that the organization believes there is a greater demand for OPEC oil.

Saudi Arabia is currently communicating with the market in a slightly different way; by raising prices, it hopes to reduce the demand for its goods. This often serves as a signal to the market that the Kingdom does not believe it is necessary to increase production.

Saudi Arabia also made a few reductions to its Extra Light ratings for the Mediterranean and North West Europe.