A wider discount, or arbitrage, makes U.S.-linked grades more attractive to foreign buyers.
Mars Sour firmed 30 cents to a midpoint of a 20-cent discount, its strongest since mid-November when the grade last traded at a premium to U.S. crude futures. It also marked the fourth straight day of gains. Thunder Horse also traded above a $4 premium, hovering near its highest since April 2020. Exports for both sweet and sour crude have remained high, particularly to Asia, a broker said.
Light Louisiana Sweet for March firmed 30 cents to a midpoint of a $4.10 premium.
Fixtures data showed at least twenty five new very large crude carriers chartered for March from the Gulf Coast to Asia and Europe, according to data from Kpler, higher than the average.
U.S. crude production will rise in 2023 even as demand
flattens, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
warned on Tuesday in its Short Term Energy Outlook.
* Light Louisiana Sweet for March delivery rose 30
cents at a midpoint of a $4.10 premium, trading between a $3.90
and a $4.30 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures .
* Mars Sour rose 30 cents to a midpoint of a 20-cent discount and traded between a flat and a 50-cent a barrel discount to U.S. crude futures .
* WTI Midland traded flat at a midpoint of a $2.25 premium and traded between a $2 and a $2.50 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures .
* West Texas Sour traded flat at a midpoint of a 25-cent discount and was bid and offered between flat and 50-cents a barrel discount to U.S. crude futures .
* WTI at East Houston, also known as MEH, traded between $2.25 and $2.75 over WTI.
* ICE Brent April futures rose $2.70 to settle at
$83.69 a barrel.
* WTI March crude futures rose $3.03 to settle at
$77.14 a barrel.
* The Brent/WTI spread narrowed 22 cents to
minus $6.30, after hitting a high of minus $6.24 and a low of
minus $6.57.
(Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by David
Gregorio)
