US Cash Crude- Sour crude makes gains; US crude, fuels stocks down
July 30 (Reuters) -U.S. crude grades were mixed on Tuesday, dealers said, as sour crudes rose and sweeter grades fell.
The spread between global benchmark Brent and U.S. crude futures narrowed for the fourth consecutive session, slimming to a discount as small as $3.94 per barrel during the session.
A narrowed Brent-WTI spread weighs on transatlantic demand.
U.S. crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday.
The API figures showed crude stocks were down by 4.495 million barrels in the week ended July 26, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Gasoline inventories fell by 1.917 million barrels, and distillates fell by 322,000 barrels.
On the demand side, sour grade Mars also rose on Monday after the U.S. Department of Energy said it had finalized a contract to purchase 4.65 million barrels of crude oil for the SPR, for delivery to the Bayou Choctaw site in Louisiana during the last three months of the year.
The department typically purchases sour crude such as Mars.
* Light Louisiana Sweet WTC-LLS for September delivery fell 5 cents at a midpoint of a $1.90 premium and was seen bid and offered between a $1.50 and $2.30 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1
* Mars Sour WTC-MRS gained 10 cents at a midpoint of a 90-cent discount and was seen bid and offered between a $1.00 and 80-cent a barrel discount to U.S. crude futures CLc1
* WTI Midland WTC-WTM fell 5 cents at a midpoint of a 75-cent premium and was seen bid and offered between a 65-cent and 85-cent a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1
* West Texas Sour WTC-WTS gained 8 cents at a midpoint of a 8-cent premium and was seen bid and offered between a discount of 10 cents and 25-cent a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1
* WTI at East Houston WTC-MEH, also known as MEH, traded between a $1.10 and $1.35 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1
* ICE Brent September futures LCOc1 fell $1.15 to settle at $78.63 a barrel on Tuesday.
* WTI September crude CLc1 futures fell $1.08 to settle at $74.73 a barrel on Tuesday.
* The Brent/WTI spread WTCLc1-LCOc1 narrowed last to minus $3.97, after hitting a high of minus $3.74 and a low of minus $4.00.
Reporting by Georgina McCartney in Houston; Editing by David Gregorio
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
