Saudi Crude Exports Rise to 6.118 Million bpd in May

Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports in May rose to 6.118 million barrels per day from 5.968 million bpd in April, official data showed on Wednesday.

Monthly export figures are provided by Riyadh and other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI), which published them on its website.

In the markets, oil prices rose on Wednesday, a day after Brent crude fell to its lowest level in a month, as the decline in US inventories helped offset the impact of indications of a slowdown in demand from China.

Brent crude futures increased 22 cents, or 0.26 percent, to $83.95 per barrel by 12:02 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 36 cents, or 0.45 percent, to $81.12 per barrel.

Both benchmarks fell in the previous three sessions, with Brent crude futures recording $83.30 on Tuesday, the lowest level since June 17.

Market sources, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute, said that US crude oil inventories fell by 4.4 million barrels in the week ending July 12.

Analysts polled by Reuters estimated crude stocks would fall by 33,000 barrels. The sources said that gasoline stocks increased by 365,000 barrels, and distillate stocks increased by 4.923 million barrels.

At the same time, rising geopolitical risks are supporting oil prices. A Liberia-flagged oil tanker was assessing damage and investigating a potential oil spill after it was attacked by the Houthis in the Red Sea, the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, official data this week showed that the Chinese economy grew 4.7 percent in the second quarter, the slowest pace since the first quarter of 2023, capping crude price gains.