Brent settled at $105.55/bbl, down 0.12%, while WTI rose 0.10% to $101.50, narrowing the transatlantic spread to $4.06. Natural and butadiene rubber moved in opposite directions, widening their daily spread to 2.6 percentage points.

N150 base oil–WTI spread widens to CNY 820/t (+12.3%), the widest in 6 months; fuel oil futures surge 2.54% to CNY 4,476/t, lifting blending costs amid refinery turnarounds. SNSUC data shows N150 spot premium at Shanghai FTZ bonded warehouses up to +CNY 180/t — import arbitrage is now economically viable.

Front-month fuel oil at CNY 4,386/t (+2.19%) and bitumen at CNY 5,217/t (+0.58%) leave the spread inverted at -CNY 831/t. Bitumen stays at a premium, so refiners keep bitumen yield high while fuel oil supply tightens.

Morning prints show Brent at $107.52/bbl and WTI at $102.36/bbl, stretching the spread to $5.16. The seven workhorse transshipment grades — ESPO, Dubai, Oman, Urals, Basrah Light, Bonny Light and Lula — reopen carried-interest windows at distinct discounts.

Brent settled at $104.25/bbl (-3.14) and WTI at $99.88/bbl (-2.54); the transatlantic spread compressed from ~$4.97 to $4.37. The tighter spread squeezes Far East transshipment margins on ESPO, Dubai and Oman cargoes, forcing re-quantification of delivered cost before title transfer.

Brent settled at $104.61/bbl on Sep 11, retreating 2.8% from the Sep 10 peak of $107.63 (+8.7% on the week). SOMO's September Asia OSP held at Basrah Medium -$4.00 and Heavy -$7.30 to Oman/Dubai. Hormuz transits dropped to ~7 vessels/day; Houthis now control both Bab al-Mandeb lanes and Saudi suspended its East-West bypass, keeping war-risk premiums elevated.

Brent at USD 104.246/bbl (-3.14) and WTI at USD 99.878/bbl (-2.54); the spread has narrowed to USD 4.37/bbl, a two-week low that thins the transshipment arbitrage.

Brent eased to about $103.5 on Friday after an intraday high of $108 on Thursday, up over 7% on the week. SOMO set September Asia OSP at -$4.00 (Medium) and -$7.30 (Heavy) to Oman/Dubai, tighter than August. Both Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb are stressed, keeping delivered net cost deeply discounted but logistics premiums surging.

SOMO set September Asia OSP for Basrah Medium at −$4.00 (was −$6.50) and Heavy at −$7.30 (was −$8.80) vs Oman/Dubai; Hormuz transits fell to ~10 vessels/day (lowest since May) while Brent settled $107.63 and WTI $102.48 on a widening geopolitical risk premium.

As of 14:46 on 2026-09-10, Brent stands at $100.368/bbl (down 0.45% from $100.82 on Sep 9) and WTI at $95.461/bbl; the two-benchmark spread has widened to $4.907/bbl. The recovery in the spread raises delivered cost for Brent-priced grades such as ESPO, Dubai and Oman, forcing a re-pricing of discounts and hedging cadence across transshipment routes.

Escalating US-Iran conflict and Hormuz disruptions drove Brent +3.36% to $101.21/bbl on Sep 9 — its first triple-digit close since July — with WTI at $96.05. Iraq's SOMO set September Asia OSP at Basrah Medium -$4.00 and Heavy -$7.30 (sharply higher vs August). Beyond OSP, SOMO's rare spot tender plus Gulf of Oman STS premiums are reshaping the net-to-arrive differential.

Fuel oil fell 2.04% on 6 September while bitumen held; by the 8th fuel oil rose 4.97% to RMB 3,988/t and bitumen 4.38% to RMB 5,002/t, both at new highs. Across three sessions the two curves moved from divergence to resonance, indicating the 6th was a sentiment-driven pullback and heavy-product demand has repaired.

Crude surged on Sep 8: Brent briefly topped $98/bbl (Saudi facilities hit, Houthi deep-strike threats) and WTI rose >2% above $93. SOMO lifted Sep Asia OSP differentials — Basrah Medium -$4.00, Heavy -$7.30 vs Oman/Dubai. We break down the net-back in three layers.

On 7 September the bitumen front-month contract printed RMB 4,879/t, up 2.11% and the highest since June. East China paving season run rates recovered just as refinery output contracted, tightening spot availability and closing the end-user procurement window.

Debunks the '18/bbl' rumor (July heavy legacy); Sept Asia OSP Medium -4.00, Heavy -7.30; with spot discount and load premium, net FOB lands ~-29 to -35/bbl. Quote in three layers.

On 6 September Brent settled at $95.93/bbl, up 0.43%, while the fuel oil front-month contract fell 2.04% to RMB 3,793/t, its largest single-day drop of the week. Feedstock up, product down: the crack spread compressed from both ends, a direct read on softening bunker demand.

Asphalt peak season is ending—no surprises: front-month ¥4,748/t down three weeks, East China utilization cut to 62.3% (3-mo low), social drawdown slowed from 1.8%/wk to 0.9%/wk. Import landed cost ¥62–92/t below domestic; arb window shut. Contractors draw down inventories, traders skip forward builds.

USD/CNY 6.7219 (+0.18%): import costs tick up visibly—Brent landed cost +¥12.8/bbl, fuel oil USD-equiv +$2.7/t. Pricing window shrinks to 3 trading days; hedge with tiered forwards, not an all-in bet.

East China Group I base oil spot ¥4,280/t vs import parity ¥4,645—¥365/t spread, widest in 3 months, turnaround-driven. Utilization 71.3%; two North China hydrotreaters in Sept maintenance keep it tight. Lock forward prices now.

On Sep 3, Brent settled at $95.86/bbl (+0.14%) and WTI at $91.11/bbl (+0.14%), steadying after recent volatility. Downstream softened in tandem: fuel oil front-month at ¥3,929/t (-1.06%) and bitumen at ¥5,005/t (-0.87%); the bitumen–fuel oil spread narrowed to ¥1,076/t, down ¥70 from the Sep 1 high of ¥1,146, reflecting how accelerated quota release and faster documentation are compressing arb premiums.

On Sep 1, bitumen futures stood at CNY 4,934/t and fuel oil at CNY 3,788/t, widening the spread to CNY 1,146/t — the highest since Jan 2026 (+5.1% w/w). Key drivers: East China asphalt plant utilization rose to 68.3%, while low-sulfur fuel oil export quotas tightened and Singapore’s ARA stockpiles fell 2.1%. We recommend immediate bitumen procurement to lock in refining margin window.

In the 31 August morning session Brent held at $89.27/bbl (-0.01%) and WTI at $84.40/bbl (-0.02%), leaving crude broadly steady, yet downstream products diverged: fuel oil fell 0.54% to RMB 3,650/t while bitumen rose 0.30% to RMB 4,610/t, widening the spread to RMB 960/t. We unpack the tug-of-war between off-season bunker demand and peak road construction, and set out a staged price-locking approach.

Drawing on Jan–Jul 2026 seaborne data, we break down the four US Gulf Coast ethane terminals (Enterprise and Energy Transfer) that supplied ~99% of global seaborne ethane, and China's ~70% demand concentration (Satellite/Wanhua/Nangang), to analyze Asia's feedstock-lightening trend, VLEC freight and the risk/opportunity in long-term-contract structures.

Drawing on CNPC's Feb-2026 report, we unpack the capacity ramp behind China's ethylene equivalent self-sufficiency rising to 78.1% and 2026 total capacity approaching 70.75 Mt/y, and its repricing of polyolefin import dependence, regional spreads and trade flows.

Using H1-2026 ethylene-route margins, we dissect the structural divergence — persistent naphtha-cracker losses versus strong ethane/coal-route profitability — and its implications for Northeast Asian capacity.

We revisit the 2026 Hormuz disruption's impact on Asian naphtha and ethylene pricing, and reassess the real value of strategic reserves, feedstock diversification and resilience tooling.

Based on global capacity ramp-up and downstream demand recovery, we examine the marginal shift in lubricating grease/carbon black price equilibrium and regional spread opportunities.

We assess the downward pressure of new low-cost Middle-East fuel oil exports on Asia-Pacific prices and China's MTO demand absorption capacity.