Oil down as deep Saudi price cut signals demand slip in Asia

By Sibel Morrow

ANKARA (AA) - Oil prices decreased on Monday after OPEC's de facto leader Saudi Arabia slashed crude oil prices to its Asian customers, fueling demand worries.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $71.14 per barrel at 0654 GMT for a 2.02% decrease after closing Friday at $72.61 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $68.47 a barrel at the same time for a 1.18% decline after ending the previous session at $69.29 per barrel.

State oil giant Saudi Aramco announced on Sunday that it will lower the Arab Light crude for its Asian customers by $1.30 in October. The largest monthly reduction in a year indicated falling demand in the region and weighed on prices.

The Saudi price cut came after lockdowns across Asia to battle the highly infectious delta coronavirus variant curbed oil demand in the region.

Further price slumps were limited by concerns that US supply would be curtailed in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.

According to the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, 88.3% of the current oil production and 82.7% of the natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico have been shut in.