S&P Global Platts Suspends Pricing of Refined Product Assessments Linked to Strait of Hormuz Amid Shipping Tensions

S&P Global Platts has suspended purchase and sale offers for refined product price assessments in the Middle East that transit the Strait of Hormuz, citing shipping disruptions stemming from U.S.-Iranian tensions.

The agency, a major provider of price information and transaction data for oil and fuel markets, announced the decision in a statement sent to subscribers and reviewed by Reuters.

Effective March 2, Platts has suspended the publication of purchase and sale offers in its price assessment process for refined products in the Middle East, including loadings in Gulf ports that require passage through the Strait of Hormuz, until further notice, the statement said.

Platts also stated it is conducting a review of the deliverability of Middle East crude oil from Gulf ports and will announce its decision at 2:00 PM GMT.

The agency noted the review was initiated after market participants informed Platts that major shipping companies had halted transit through the Strait of Hormuz due to heightened security concerns following reported Israeli and U.S. airstrikes on Iran.

The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, connects the Gulf to the Arabian Sea. In normal circumstances, tankers carrying approximately one-fifth of global oil demand pass through the strait daily, transporting crude from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Iran, and Kuwait, along with diesel, jet fuel, gasoline, and other products from their refineries.

Platts' daily assessment of Dubai crude oil prices serves as a physical benchmark used by traders and oil companies to price millions of barrels of crude oil and derivative deals in the Middle East.