Brent settled at $104.41/bbl and WTI at $91.77/bbl, each down $2.10 on the day, locking the spread at $12.64. For a transshipment desk, that gap matters more than the absolute level — it decides whether Atlantic-basin barrels can undercut the Middle East benchmark.

SNSUC's seven-grade resale list — ESPO, Dubai, Oman, Urals, Basrah Light, Bonny Light and Lula — is all quoted as Brent plus a discount, with freight and insurance booked as separate lines in the landed cost. A falling WTI does not directly cut our CIF quote, but it forces US-gulf spot (WTI-linked) to discount harder to win Asian share.

At $12.64 the spread sits near the high end of the year. Long-haul freight (US Gulf to China) has not eased, so the effective edge of US crude is blunted by ocean freight; the genuinely cheaper lane is the short-haul Middle East grade delivered via STS anchorage, where discount negotiations have more room.