The reign of the West Texas Intermediate as the world’s top oil benchmark “looks increasingly precarious”, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday, after Saudi Arabia dropped last month the yardstick as its reference for US sales.

“WTI has been the most important price benchmark for several decades but its fall from grace was long in the making,” the western countries’ watchdog said. The IEA added that “inherent logistical flaws” caused by the contract delivery point at the landlocked pipeline hub of Cushing, Oklahoma, “frequently led to a disconnect from international markets”.