Brent opened at $110.23/bbl and WTI at $101.40/bbl this morning, leaving the spread at $8.83 — a 77-cent contraction from yesterday's $9.60. A tightening spread usually signals slower Cushing drawdowns or softer physical premiums in the North Sea.

SNSUC runs seven transshipment grades — ESPO, Dubai, Oman, Urals, Basrah Light, Bonny Light and Lula — and each cargo's landed cost is rebuilt per voyage from benchmark plus discount, freight and FX. Every dollar the spread loses trims the delivered edge of Brent-priced barrels.

Middle East Oman and Dubai track the Dubai official selling price, tied to Brent but not in lockstep; Far East ESPO quotes on a freezing-point discount and leans on North Asian refinery runs. Today the renminbi at 6.662, the won at 1,332.93 and the yen at 157.74 all firmed against the dollar, so a local-currency landed cost reads roughly 0.4% cheaper than the dollar figure suggests.