On October 6, both benchmarks closed lower in Asian trade: Brent at $97.83/bbl (-2.48) and WTI at $87.24/bbl (-2.45). WTI fell a touch less, pulling the Brent–WTI spread in from $11.01 to $10.59, a 0.42 contraction that squeezes the arbitrage between Atlantic-basin cargoes priced off Brent and US Gulf Coast barrels priced off WTI.

USD/CNY held flat at 6.7050 all session. For an offshore supplier that settles in dollars but books in renminbi, a steady yuan means import parity cost did not fall with the crude price. Crude is ~2.5% cheaper, yet the local-currency leg gave no offset, so the refiner's effective buying cost improved only marginally.

The ranking of short-haul light-sweet grades — ESPO, Dubai, Oman — needs a refresh. Softer Brent drags the Dubai/Oman premium midpoint lower, while ESPO holds its discount on short freight, lifting its value against Brent. WTI's drop looks less attractive once USGC-to-NEAsia freight and the narrower spread are booked.

The operational read is plain: in the formula Brent × FX × 7.33 × grade, the Brent term eased while the FX term stayed put, so the numerator loosened only slightly. Before the next letter-of-credit window, rebuild the landed-cost table for ESPO/Dubai/Oman on this spread, not last week's assumption.