U.S. Crude Is Dominating Global Oil Markets

A couple of years ago, British oil and gas supermajor BP Plc (NYS:BP) lamented that the North Sea crude price Dated Brent--the company’s most important pricing benchmark--was experiencing “regular dislocations.”Back then, a handful of deep-pocketed traders would sometimes hold as much as 40% of the world’s total crude supply for particular months, allowing them to manipulate the markets.

Luckily for global markets, the inclusion of the United States' WTI Midland into the benchmark has made dated Brent…