Aramco cuts September Asia price for Arab Light as hopes for a Hormuz deal weigh on oil prices

According to Oilprice.com, Saudi Aramco said on Thursday, August 6, 2026 (15 Mordad 1405), that it will cut the September official selling price for Arab Light crude to Asian buyers by 50 cents a barrel, putting it at a $2 discount to the regional benchmark. The cut came as Iran said its agreement with Oman on a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz had entered its final stages, news that added to a drop in Brent crude to around $80 a barrel, down roughly 20 percent over two weeks. Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser said the company has kept exports near 5 million barrels a day, about 70 percent of normal volume, despite major disruption to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Aramco has relied mainly on the Red Sea port of Yanbu to bypass the strait's constraints, but Houthi threats to shipping in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait have pushed the company to consider an alternative route through Egypt's SUMED pipeline, loading cargo at Sidi Kerir. Aramco simultaneously raised prices for some medium and heavy grade cargoes bound for Asia while cutting prices for all grades headed to the United States, Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean.