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Welcome to our guide to the commodities driving the global economy. Today, reporter Alex Longley looks at the persistent tightness in physical oil markets following the US-Iran ceasefire earlier this week.

A day into the fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, the Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked, meaning a clamor for oil remains unresolved.

Prior to the agreement, the US Energy Information Administration predicted a supply loss of about 9 million barrels a day from the war this month, following a slightly smaller drop in March.

That means 314 million barrels have been removed from the market already -- almost 80% of the record release of emergency reserves announced by the International Energy Agency in March.

As a result, refiners are scouting the world for whatever supplies they can get their hands on. Buyers have increasingly turned to the US to fill the gap, with American exports expected to surge to unprecedented levels in the coming weeks.

On Tuesday, the Dated Brent benchmark -- the most important price for physical crude transactions -- hit a record above $140 a barrel.

It fell along with futures prices on Wednesday, but is still north of $120. Its premium to Brent futures actually grew on the day. That's in part because traders continue to line up bids for shipments in a vital North Sea pricing window.

There, four grades were sought at more than $20 a barrel above their benchmark price, in a sign of the lingering scarcity. In normal times, the premium or discount would be in the low single digits.

"Physical crude markets continue to whizz higher and paper products are beginning to rebound towards the pre-ceasefire setup," said Neil Crosby, head of research at Sparta Commodities.

In another sign of the continued pressure, Japanese media reported that the nation is considering releasing additional barrels -- equivalent to 20 days of consumption -- from its emergency stockpile.

All the while, just three ships crossed Hormuz yesterday following the ceasefire. Shipowners, industry groups and governmental organizations have all struck a cautious tone about resuming transits since the agreement was announced.

Until that uncertainty eases and volumes pick up more meaningfully, there's little sign that the disruption in the oil market has come to an end.

-- Alex Longley, Bloomberg News

Chart of the day

As war injects extreme volatility into oil and gas markets, the global race for energy security is making China stronger, according to Deutsche Bank AG's Jacky Tang. China wins from an "energy-mix standpoint," he said in an interview. The country's status as the world's largest producer of clean tech means it can help governments now desperate to wean themselves off Middle East imports, according to Tang, emerging-markets chief investment officer at the lender's private banking arm.

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