-- Saudi Aramco, the largest supplier of liquefied petroleum gas to Asia, increased prices of cargoes loading in July to records after global crude oil benchmarks climbed to all-time highs this month.

The Dhahran, Saudi Arabia-based company increased the price of propane cargoes by $10, or 1.1 percent, to $905 a metric ton, said a company official who asked not to be identified. Aramco raised the price of butane by $30, or 3.3 percent, to $950 a ton.

Crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange reached a record $142.99 a barrel on June 27. Prices have almost doubled in a year. Oman crude oil futures, a Middle Eastern benchmark for Asian refiners, rose to an all-time high of $134.15 a barrel on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange on June 26.

Aramco sells LPG under one-year contracts and 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.