World's most-important oil price tops $100, signals more to come

It also shows that the rally in futures prices - they passed $96 at one point on Wednesday - is in part being driven by what's happening in the real world

Forget the futures market, the world’s most important oil price just smashed through $100 a barrel with every sign it is going to push higher. Dated Brent, the price of cargoes bought and sold in the North Sea, reached $100.8 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since 2014, according to S&P Global Platts, the company that publishes the marker. Price spreads in the futures market are pointing to one the tightest markets ever.

The surge through $100 a barrel for Dated matters because the daily price assessment is at the centre of a web of complex oil derivatives and