Days after OPEC+ announced a surprise cut in production, Saudi Arabia raised the official selling price for all its oil sales to buyers in Asia.
Oil giant Saudi Aramco raised the price of its main Arab Light crude to Asia by 30 cents a barrel, an increase for the third month in a row.
World crude oil prices soared earlier in the week following a surprise decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies to cut 1.16 million barrels a day in production from May.
Saudi Arabia, the cartel's de facto leader along with Russia, agreed to cut output by 500,000 barrels a day.
Analysts saw Saudi Arabia's move to raise prices, indicating that it is confident of strong Asian demand even after announcing production cuts.
Aramco sells about 60% of its crude oil shipments to Asia mostly under long-term contracts. China, Japan, South Korea and India are its biggest buyers.
Separately, current movements in the main crude oil benchmark saw Brent futures trade slightly lower at $84 a barrel, while US WTI fell around $79 a barrel.
