Crude oil futures started the week higher in mid-morning trade in Asia Dec. 6, with sentiment boosted by the release of Saudi Aramco’s latest official selling prices that suggested the kingdom was confident in the outlook for oil demand. At 10:18 am Singapore time (0218 GMT), the ICE February Brent futures contract was up $1.73/b (2.48%) from the previous close at $71.61/b, while the NYMEX January light sweet crude contract was $1.68/b (2.54%) higher at $67.94/b. “After a weak close on Friday, oil markets have opened stronger this morning,” ING analysts Warren Patterson and Wenyu Yao said in a note, pointing to the release of Saudi Aramco’s January OSPs over the weekend that raised Asia-bound differentials by up to 80 cents/b. “The increase in OSPs into Asia comes despite OPEC+ agreeing to stick to its plan of […]