Middle East crude benchmark Platts cash Dubai crosses $100/b mark

Middle East crude benchmark Platts cash Dubai surpassed the $100/b mark for the first time in more than three years March 6, data from Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, showed, amid the ongoing fallout from the Middle East war.

The marker was assessed at $100.45/b at the March 6 Asian close, up $5.50/b on the day and at a high not seen since Aug. 30, 2022, when it was assessed at $102.80/b as markets grappled that year with the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Now in its sixth day, the conflict showed little signs of reaching a resolution. Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained severely curtailed, with crude and product crossings close to a standstill, and hundreds of vessels queued on both sides of the chokepoint.

The Platts Dubai differential has also surged to hit all-time highs over the week ended March 6. It was most recently assessed at a premium of $23.81/b against same-month Dubai futures at the March 6 Asian close, up more than nineteenfold from a $1.21/b premium on Feb. 27 before the fighting broke out.