Asian Refiners Load Up on U.S. Crude as Strait of Hormuz Risk Rises

Asian buyers snapped up 11 million barrels of U.S. crude in mid-July as the U.S.-Iran conflict escalated, per Bloomberg. With roughly 20% of global oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, refiners are front-loading non-Gulf shipments before that route becomes unusable or uninsurable. Brent has surged from the low-$70s in late June to above $90.