Saudi Arabia delays May crude prices until after OPEC+ meeting

Saudi Aramco will delay the release of its crude official selling prices (OSP) for May until April 10 to wait for the outcome of a meeting between OPEC and its allies regarding possible output cuts, a senior Saudi source familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

"It is an unprecedented measure that has not been taken by Aramco before. May OSPs will depend on how the OPEC+ meeting concludes. We are doing what we can to make it successful, including taking this extraordinary step to delay the OSPs," the Saudi source said.

Saudi Aramco typically issues its OSPs by the 5th of each month, setting the trend for Iranian, Kuwaiti and Iraqi prices and affecting more than 12 million barrels of oil per day bound for Asia.

OPEC and allies are due to meet on Thursday to discuss a possible new global crude supply cut to end a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia which has prompted US President Donald Trump to intervene.

The Saudi source said that Riyadh wants to avoid a repeat of the outcome of a March meeting where oil talks collapsed between OPEC and allies "due to Russia's lack of cooperation with the rest of OPEC+ participants".

Coordinated cuts between OPEC members and others led by Russia expired on March 31 having helped support crude prices since they began in January 2017.

The OPEC+ meeting was initially due for Monday, but was postponed to April 9 "to allow for more time to reach out to all producers including OPEC+ and others," the Saudi source said.