Saudi Arabia's oil sales to Asia's two biggest importers are set to come in at lower-than-usual levels next month due to the war raging across the Middle East.
Saudi Aramco, the world's top exporter, is due to ship about 40 million barrels of crude to customers in China in April, lower than usual exports of 48 million barrels in February.
Flows to buyers in India are also set to come in lower, with exports set at roughly 23 million barrels for next month, slightly lower than recent months.
The global oil market has been upended by the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran, which is nearing the one-month mark, causing crude to spike as Tehran launched attacks against energy infrastructure across the region.
The disruption at Hormuz prompted Saudi Aramco to reroute some crude supplies, but the ambitious measure is only a partial workaround, with Yanbu having an export capacity of around 5 million barrels a day.
BlackRock Inc. President Rob Kapito warned that investors may be underestimating the risks stemming from the Iran war, which are likely to hurt economic growth and boost inflation even if the conflict were to end soon.
