Sri Lankan buyer paid $286 for barrel of oil, as actual prices diverge from markets

Sri Lankan buyer paid $286 for barrel of oil, as actual prices diverge from markets Submitted by Sean Mathews on Wed, 04/15/2026 - 22:15 HSBC chief says price of Brent crude does not reflect real-world prices in Asia, when insurance, shipping and scarcity are taken into account An employee fills an auto-rickshaw with petrol at a filling station in Wellawatte on the outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 16 March 2026 (Ishara S Kodikara/AFP) Off The price paid for a barrel of oil in Asia has reached as high as $286 in at least one case, as a result of the US-Israeli war on Iran, Georges Elhedery, the CEO of HSBC Bank, said at an investment forum in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Elhedery made the remarks to underscore how the benchmark price of oil in the West does not reflect the actual price buyers in certain parts of the world are paying. “What worries me is not the headlines.