Brent plunged 3.43% to $103.94/bbl — its largest single-day drop since August 22; WTI fell 3.29% to $99.11/bbl. This collapse wasn’t driven by fundamentals: no IEA/EIA inventory data released today, and fuel oil futures rose 4.58% to ¥4,289/t while asphalt edged up 0.33%, confirming sustained refinery runs and terminal restocking in Asia-Pacific. The driver was risk premium unwinding: confirmation of no new Red Sea blockades, a 37% weekly drop in Houthi attack frequency (JOC), and Strait of Hormuz throughput rebounding to 2.28 mmb/d (SNSUC vessel tracking), compounded by Fed silence ahead of the September FOMC meeting, triggering concentrated long liquidation. USD/CNY rose only 0.02% to 6.7070, yet EUR/USD fell 0.20% and USD/JPY dropped 0.25% — proving this USD strength is structural, not RMB-specific. EUR/CNY fell 0.17%, reflecting solidified market pricing of ECB inaction in September. For SNSUC clients, the drop directly compresses arbitrage windows on all seven transshipment crudes priced off Brent: theoretical landed cost for ESPO and Urals fell $2.8–$3.1/bbl, but beware of fuel oil’s counter-trend strength — it risks breaking cross-commodity hedges. Upside trigger: Brent reclaims $106.50 (10-day high); downside floor: $101.20 (August 28 low) — breach opens path to $98. Procurement guidance: Importers should ladder purchases of October ESPO cargoes between $102.00–$102.80/bbl; transshippers should pause new Urals–Basrah Light spread longs until Brent sustains above $103.50.