On 8 September Brent printed $99.14/bbl, up 2.2%, while WTI printed $94.50/bbl, up 3.3%, outpacing Brent. Larger-than-expected US inventory draws combined with Middle East risk premium lifted both benchmarks, compounding RMB-denominated import cost pressure.

WTI rose to $92.61/bbl (+1.23%), Brent to $96.88/bbl (+0.62%), driven by Middle East geopolitical risk premium and larger-than-expected EIA inventory draw; upward pressure on RMB-denominated import costs warrants hedging review per SNSUC Research Institute.

Fuel oil front-month contract closed at ¥3,900/t, up 0.93% — the strongest daily gain this week; combined with rising USD/CNY, FX conversion costs for importers increased; recommend monitoring hedging opportunities for September shipment windows.

Asian currencies strengthened against the dollar in unison: USD/JPY at 158.92 (-0.77%), USD/KRW at 1,357.98 (-1.08%) and USD/CNY at 6.7190 (-0.07%), while EUR/USD eased to 1.1586. Brent at $95.84/bbl and WTI at $91.18/bbl both edged up 0.12%, compressing the Brent–WTI spread further to $4.66/bbl. With dollar-denominated crude flat and buyer currencies appreciating, Japanese, Korean and Chinese refiners are handed a window of lower costs measured in local currency.