Saudi Aramco cuts LPG prices for September as crude oil falls
September 2, 2008 - 0:0
SINGAPORE (Bloomberg) -- Saudi Aramco, the largest supplier of liquefied petroleum gas to Asia, cut prices of cargoes loading in September from August after global crude oil benchmarks fell.
The Dhahran, Saudi Arabia-based company reduced the price of propane cargoes by $60, or 7 percent, to $800 a metric ton, said a company official who asked not to be identified. Aramco lowered the price of butane by $50, or 5.6 percent, to $840 a ton.Crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange reached a record $147.27 a barrel on July 11, and since then have dropped more than 19 percent.
Aramco sells LPG under one-year contracts and as individual cargoes for immediate delivery. The cargoes are sold free-on-board, requiring the buyers to pay for shipping costs.
LPG, a by-product of oil refining and crude oil and natural gas output, is used for heating, cooking and as a motor fuel. LPG is also used as an alternative to naphtha for processing into petrochemicals.