The global crude oil market continues to see disrupted exports from the Middle East. Yet, with soft Asian demand and the release of strategic reserves around the world, Europe now finds itself struggling to place excess crude oil barrels ahead of peak summer demand.

To examine the latest development in European crude oil balances, S&P Global Energy's Gary Clark, associate director, is joined by frontline price reporters Ernest Puey and Patrick McAllister to unpack supply drivers that have led to the current supply glut.

The disruption to flows through the Strait of Hormuz is rapidly reshaping the Asian jet fuel market at a critical juncture, just as seasonal demand accelerates ahead of the peak summer travel period. As one of the world's most important energy chokepoints, the Strait has long facilitated the movement of significant volumes of Middle Eastern jet fuel. The loss of these flows is now forcing market participants to reassess supply security, trade routes, and pricing dynamics across the region.

In this episode of the Platts Oil Markets Podcast, Jonathan Nonis, associate editorial director, is joined by members of the global editorial team — Lee Shu Ling and Aruni Sunil — to examine how the disruption is translating into the physical market. They explore the extent to which supply dislocations are tightening regional balances, the adjustments in trade flows and inventory strategies, and the emergence of demand destruction. They also look at how key benchmarks — including FOB Arab Gulf and FOB Singapore jet fuel, as well as the East-West arbitrage — are responding to tighter supply conditions.

European and Asian LPG fundamentals have sharply diverged following the disruption to flows through the Strait of Hormuz in late February and early March. The supply shock sent Asian propane prices sharply higher, tightened availability, and disrupted petrochemical demand. Meanwhile, the European market, especially the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub, has remained comparatively well supplied and under pressure.

To examine the latest trends in this segment, S&P Global Energy's Gary Clark, the associate director of the EMEA clean refined price reporting team, is joined by Senior Price Reporter Barbara Fernandez-Pita to help explain how record US exports, surging freight costs, a closed arbitrage window, and the end of the winter heating season have helped insulate European propane from the worst of the global squeeze.