One of the main reasons why the coronavirus-induced price slump feels so odd is that it is accompanied by a prolonged price war that has simultaneously dropped crude differentials, in many instances to levels unseen in the past 8-10 years. The price war was started by Saudi Arabia’s national oil company Saudi Aramco mid-March when it cut its April prices by $6-7 per barrel month-on-month, in a move that was at the time perceived as Riyadh’s claim to safeguard or even increase its market share come what may, a strategy that was continued with May-loading cargoes. Yet despite fears that Russia’s main export grade Urals will inevitably fall victim to such an aggressive Saudi marketing strategy, Urals’ allure has caught market watchers somewhat offguard. There is no sole reason why Urals has not declined further and followed the pricing curve of Arab Medium or Arab Light . As a […]