On the FX board today the dollar weakened against both the yen and the won — USD/JPY at 158.09 and USD/KRW at 1344.77 — while USD/CNY held at 6.705. The three lines move out of step, which means East Asian transshipment desks must keep separate local-currency books.

A steady RMB helps SNSUC. The FX term in our quote formula is USD/CNY, and a non-depreciating yuan means RMB-denominated CIF costs are not quietly eaten by the rate. When domestic buyers are quoted in RMB, the margin is more predictable.

But the Japanese and Korean counterparts keep a different book. A stronger yen and won lower their cost when they take dollar-priced cargo and convert back to local currency, thickening margin on paper — yet if their own downstream is also dollar-priced, the appreciation turns into inventory devaluation pressure. So on the Japan/Korea routes, the tenor of the deal matters more than the price itself.

EUR/CNY at 7.491 and EUR/USD at 1.1179 show the euro also moving against the RMB. Desks running Europe-bound transshipment should note a weaker euro dampens European refiners' buying appetite, indirectly softening long-haul Gulf-to-Europe enquiries. In one line: this is not a one-way market; the three currency legs walk apart, and hedging must be split by currency.