Yongchang Chin

The oil market is suddenly being gripped by a divergence between futures and physical prices, something that’s playing out in two closely watched versions of Brent crude.

In the last couple of weeks, Brent futures — where billions of dollars of contracts change hands every day — climbed about $10 a barrel to a five-month high near $112.

Alex Longley, Shariq Khan and Yongchang Chin / Bloomberg News

US crude oil exports to Asia are set to hit multi-year lows after the Iran war disrupted global shipping and pushed the cost to lease a tanker for the Pacific journey to a record of almost $80 million.

U.S. crude oil exports to Asia are set to hit multiyear lows after the Iran war disrupted global shipping and pushed the cost to lease a tanker for the Pacific journey to a record of almost $80 million.

The physical prices of some Middle East crudes sold outside the Persian Gulf have dropped, with producers and global traders getting more adept at pushing cargoes through the Strait of Hormuz despite attacks.

The physical prices of some Middle East crudes sold outside the Persian Gulf have dropped.

Singapore will store Saudi Arabian oil in caverns in the city-state from the second half of next year, part of a plan by the kingdom to cope with disruptions from the US-Iran war.

Indian refiners are increasingly turning to Persian Gulf crude and pulling back from their mainstay supplier Russia, as sky-high freight costs erode the economics of long-haul shipments.

Indonesia unexpectedly unsettled its relationship with neighboring Singapore after it announced in late October that it would reduce natural gas exports to the city-state.