Brent Oil Is Stressed, Not Broken, by War, Morgan Stanley Says

The growing stress in the oil market triggered by the Middle East war is showing up in huge premiums for prompt real-world barrels, with the wider Brent complex working as it should, according to Morgan Stanley.

Buyers are “paying an exceptional premium for secure, refinery-usable Atlantic Basin barrels available now,” analysts including Martijn Rats said in a note dated April 7. “That does not mean the futures market is broken. It just means that different parts of the complex are pricing different combinations of immediacy, tightness and expected persistence,” they added.