07.01.202111:30 Forex Analysis & Reviews: US halts Saudi crude imports

For the first time in 35 years, the United States stopped importing Saudi crude, which is in stark contrast to what happened a few months ago, when the Kingdom threatened to turn the US energy industry upside down by unleashing a tsunami of exports to the market.

This lack of supplies follows the sharp drop in crude shipments to the US, which began in October.

Since tankers from Saudi Arabia take a long time, about six weeks, to reach import terminals either in the west or on the coast of the Persian Gulf, the manifestation of the drop in supplies began to appear only now.

Therefore, this is the first week that there has been no deliveries in the US.

At the same time, on Tuesday, OPEC and its allies agreed to cut production by 9.7 million bpd, after a short-term free production that caused prices to plummet.

Reduced supplies have helped bolster oil reserves. Last month, oil prices rose in hopes of improving demand. However, recent events in the US continue to negatively impact it.

Demand for gasoline fell to its lowest level in recent years, even during the holiday season, when consumption is usually high.

For Saudi Arabia, cutting US supplies is the fastest way to inform the market that they are decreasing output. The US government is the only one to publish weekly crude oil inventories and imports, which have a huge impact on oil traders. Other major oil consuming countries, such as China, publish less timely information on oil supplies.

In May and June, shipments from Saudi Arabia to the US more than doubled from last year. In early July, US refineries received the last batch of bumpers.

Since then, the supply of Saudi oil has been steadily declining. Just two weeks ago, they delivered only 73,000 bpd in the US, according to preliminary figures from the US Energy Information Administration.

But in the short term, Joe Biden's election could benefit Saudi Arabia. While the abandonment of hydrocarbons will have a long-term impact on oil demand, hopes for the resumption of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran will pave the way for increased supplies of Iranian oil around the world.

"These sales will displace Saudi oil, and that will mean that the Kingdom will have to turn to the US for support," said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.