In May, Saudi Arabia raised the official selling price for all its oil sales to Asian customers.

For a third consecutive month, Saudi Aramco raised its selling price for flagship Arab Light crude to Asia by 30 cents a barrel. Arab Light prices were expected to fall by 43 cents a barrel according to traders surveyed before the shock OPEC+ decision.

Following an unexpected decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to cut more than 1 million barrels in daily output, oil rose 8.4% on Monday, the most in more than a year.

Since the start of this week, traders and refiners have been eagerly anticipating a hike in Saudi official prices. Additionally, some buyers were concerned about possible reductions in their cargo liftings from Aramco, or so-called allocations, prompting them to begin looking for alternative suppliers other than OPEC+.

By setting its official prices relative to other competing suppliers or by allocating how much of each grade it will supply to each customer, Saudi Aramco can affect and control the amount of oil it exports in a given month.

The majority of Aramco's crude shipments to Asia are under long-term contracts, whose pricing is reviewed each month. The biggest buyers are China, Japan, South Korea, and India.

Other Gulf producers, such as Iraq and Kuwait, often follow the company's pricing decisions.