Dated Brent is S&P Global Platts' physical crude benchmark for North Sea oil, derived from the BFOET basket (Brent, Forties, Oseberg, Ekofisk, Troll) via a Market on Close window run 16:00-16:30 London time. It is the most widely referenced physical crude price globally, used as the base for the majority of international crude oil contracts.Source: S&P Global Platts

How do Platts ARA barge cracks work?

Platts ARA barge crack assessments price the margin between refined products (gasoil, EBOB, jet fuel) and crude oil at Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub prices, using Dated Brent as the crude reference. They are contractual benchmarks for European refining margins and product-vs-crude spread trades.Source: S&P Global Platts

What Brent price did Platts and EIA forecast for Q4 2026?

The EIA's May 2026 STEO forecast Brent at $89/BBL by Q4 2026, using Platts' Dated Brent assessment as the base. The forecast implied a significant decline from the Q2 $106/BBL level as OPEC+ hike volumes and demand moderation were priced into the forward curve.Source: EIA STEO / S&P Global Platts

Background

S&P Global Platts (now branded S&P Global Commodity Insights) is the largest price reporting agency (PRA) in commodities, founded in 1909 and acquired by S&P Global in 2016. Beyond oil, Platts assesses LNG (including the JKM Asian spot marker), metals (iron ore, steel, battery materials), agriculture, and shipping freight, making it a cross-commodity reference rather than an oil-only service. Its best-known product remains Dated Brent (from the North Sea BFOET basket via a daily Market on Close (MOC) window at 16:00-16:30 UK time), the world's most widely used physical crude benchmark, alongside Platts Dubai, ARA barge cracks, NWE jet CIF, and European refined products bulletins.

By late June 2026, Platts' weekly Fujairah survey recorded light distillates (gasoline-blending stocks) at 1.203 million barrels, down 14% and the lowest on record, even as the same report showed heavy and middle distillates rebuilding, an inversion Platts read alongside Gulf refiners diverting naphtha toward Asian petrochemical demand. Fuel oil stocks jumped 32% to a three-month high over the same week.

Platts' daily assessments remain the contractual reference for the majority of European physical crude and product contracts. Its Dated Brent assessment underpinned the EIA's earlier $89/BBL Q4 forecast; with Brent trading nearer $70-72 by early July, that forecast is already being tested.

More questions

How does the Platts MOC window affect European oil trading?

The Platts Market on Close window (16:00-16:30 London) is the daily price-setting event for Dated Brent and European product assessments. Trading desks manage their physical positions to be neutral or advantaged relative to the window's outcome; the 30-minute period sees concentrated activity from the largest crude trading houses.

Does S&P Global Platts assess commodities besides oil?

Yes. Beyond its oil benchmarks, S&P Global Platts (S&P Global Commodity Insights) assesses LNG including the JKM Asian spot marker, metals such as iron ore and steel, agriculture, and shipping freight, making it a cross-commodity reference rather than an oil-only service.Source: S&P Global Platts

Why did Fujairah gasoline stocks hit a record low in June 2026?

S&P Global reported Fujairah light distillates (gasoline-blending stocks) fell 14% to 1.203 million barrels in the week to 29 June 2026, the lowest on record, as Gulf refiners diverted naphtha and gasoline-blending components toward Asian petrochemical demand.Source: S&P Global Platts

Source Material

S&P Global Commodity Insights S&P Global Commodity Insights Price Assessments

How the World Sees Them

China

Chinese NOCs have pushed to reduce Dated Brent dependency in Asian crude pricing, supporting Shanghai crude futures (INE) as an alternative, but Platts Dubai remains the dominant Middle East-to-Asia benchmark.

United States

The US FTC and CFTC have jurisdiction over Platts' US-registered entity; both IOSCO (2012) and G20 have reviewed PRAs including Platts after the Libor scandal raised questions about benchmark governance.

OPEC producers

Gulf producers price official selling prices (OSPs) as a premium or discount to Dated Brent or Platts Dubai, making Platts' assessment methodology a direct determinant of sovereign oil revenue.

European refiners

Platts ARA barge crack assessments are contractual reference prices for European refiners selling product into spot markets; a misassessment or methodology change can directly move physical contract settlements.