The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday edition that Morgan Stanley analyst Martijn Rats argues that the increasing stress in the oil market caused by the Middle East war is evident in large premiums for immediate physical barrels, with the broader Brent complex functioning as expected. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post quotes Mr. Rats saying that buyers are "paying an exceptional premium for secure, refinery-usable Atlantic basin barrels available now." He added: "That does not mean the futures market is broken. It just means that different parts of the complex are pricing different combinations of immediacy, tightness and expected persistence." Measures of physical demand have outpaced gains in futures by a wide margin. Ahead of the Easter weekend, Dated Brent -- the world's most important price for real-world barrels, which tracks North Sea shipments -- surged above $140 (U.S.) to the highest since 2008. At the same time, futures have risen, but not to the same extent. June contracts were last near $108 (U.S.) a barrel. Mr. Rats said Dated Brent acts as the physical anchor of the wider complex, while futures are the "liquid financial layer" that is the most visible.