On 3 October Reliance and IOC kept sweeping ESPO and Brazilian Lula on the spot market, pushing the Asian light-sweet premium higher. The same day USD/JPY printed 157.83, down 0.1771, and USD/KRW 1342.53, down 1.2802, as the yen and won both strengthened against the dollar, passively lowering Northeast Asian buyers' dollar procurement cost.

India's buying widens ESPO's premium to Dubai, while Oman's premium stays flat because its monthly official price has decoupled from spot. Among the seven resale grades, ESPO and Lula move to the front of the arrival ranking on Indian demand, while Urals and Basrah Light hold their place on discounts.

On freight, the short ESPO haul — Kozmino to Qingdao about five to seven days — still beats the Middle East and West Africa long-haul, but Pacific-route tonnage is tightening as India competes for the same cargoes, and late-October laycans show early firming.

For SNSUC, India's spillover cuts both ways. ESPO and Lula spot get pricier, but the China arrival spread still hinges on domestic cracking, and the Indian premium only pulls buying forward. This week the focus is ESPO spot discount and the dollar legs at both ends.