(March 19): Asian buyers have scooped up the most US oil in three years this month as they hunt for alternatives to Persian Gulf crude trapped behind the Strait of Hormuz. That compares with US$5 to US$6 barrel premiums over Dubai in similar deals done last month, before the war. The oil won’t provide Asia with a quick fix to the current crisis, however. The US usually exports around 110 million barrels a month, with about half going to Europe and more than a third heading to Asia, according to Kpler and Vortexa. Asian buyers took around 35 million barrels of American oil in each of the first two months of this year.

Source: The Edge Markets March 19, 2026 07:53 UTC