With global oil demand remaining low due to the COVID-19 pandemic flare-ups across the globe, the world's largest crude oil exporter, Saudi Arabia has slashed the pricing for oil sales for the coming month of October, reports Mint.

The Arab country’s state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco has cut the prices of its key Arab light grade of crude by a more than expected amount for shipments to Asia which forms its main market. The Saudi Arabian oil giant has also slashed the prices for its buyers in the United States (US).

Arab light grade has now been priced at a discount to the benchmark oil price for the first time since June. Also, this marks the second consecutive month of price cuts for oil shipments to Asia, and first in six months when prices have been cut for US buyers. Aramco will also be cutting the prices for the lighter grade of oil sold to northwest Europe and the Mediterranean region.

It should be noted that despite doubling from the lowest that the prices had hit earlier this year, crude oil prices remain around 35 per cent down this year.

Oil demand has plunged throughout the world because the Covid-19 pandemic has forced governments to lock down economies.

Saudi Arabia is known to usually set the tone for pricing decisions by the other Middle Eastern nations which are known to be major oil-exporting countries. These include Iraq and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which form the second and third-largest oil-exporting nations on the planet.