European jet fuel prices break new record with Middle East war escalating

European jet fuel outright prices and cash differentials hit yet another all-time high on March 16 as the war in the Middle East escalates and ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted.

The Platts jet CIF NWE cargo flat price rose to an all-time high of $1,698/metric ton on March 16, while the Platts jet CIF NWE cash premium to ICE LSGO M1 hit a record high at $538.25/mt. These are the highest levels seen on record since Platts started assessing jet fuel.

The Platts jet FOB FARAG barge flat price also hit an all-time high of $1,654/mt on March 16.

The record high values come as market participants expect acute tightness in the jet market in April with no exports from the Middle East, a major supplier of jet fuel to Europe. About half of all European jet fuel imports in 2025 came from the Middle East, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data, underscoring Europe's reliance on the region.

The jet fuel market is also tighter than diesel, as jet fuel has disproportionately fewer specialized tanks than diesel, a jet fuel trader said.

Jet fuel and kerosene stocks at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub fell 4% week over week to 779,000 metric tons in the seven days to March 12, and down 8.2% year over year, Insights Global data showed.

Tightness in Asia may also result in more volumes from the US Gulf Coast and West Africa diverting away from Europe, which could have otherwise been an alternate source of supply replacing the Middle Eastern flows, the same trader added.

Physical strength reflected in financial contracts

The derivatives market also broke records on March 16 with the March CIF NWE jet swap differential reaching a $542/mt above the April ICE Low Sulfur Gasoil futures contract, the highest differential the swap had seen. The flat price financial swap hit $1701.75/mt, also a record high.

With huge price increases and high volatility, traders close to the matter reported that it was harder to find tradable levels. One trader in the European middle distillate swaps market reported that bid-offer spreads were around $30/mt wide, compared with around 50 cents/mt before the war.

"Jet is difficult [to trade]. Swaps can move as much as 100 dollars. People are still very scared," the trader said.

Large bid-offer spreads are likely to weigh on market liquidity as it becomes increasingly difficult to find tradable levels.

"In the first few days [of the conflict] there was a lot of liquidity because people were trying to get out of positions, but now it is really dying, even in futures markets," a second Europe-focused middle distillate derivatives trader said. "It's becoming difficult to try and even get 10 lots off."