March 23 (Reuters) - Grades weakened on Thursday,
dealers said, on the second day of the cash roll period, when
traders net out their exposures.
WTI Midland weakened 25 cents, while Midland at East
Houston, known as MEH, eased 35 cents. Mars eased 40 cents.
Grades typically tend to be more volatile during the roll
period as traders use the window to square their positions.
WTI widened 14 cents to a minus $5.98 discount to Brent but
still traded in a narrow window. A discount wider than $6 boosts
exports as it makes U.S.-linked grades cheaper for foreign
buyers.
Easing freight rates for very large crude carriers could,
however, boost Asia demand soon.
Meanwhile, it could take years for the United States to
refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the energy secretary
told lawmakers. Sales directed by President Joe Biden last year
pushed the stockpile to its lowest level since 1983.
In refining news, Exxon Mobil Corp returned a
gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracker to full production
on Monday following a planned overhaul at its 560,500
barrel-per-day (bpd) Baytown, Texas, refinery, sources said.
Marathon Petroleum Corp partially restarted the
resid hydrotreater at its 593,000 bpd Galveston Bay Refinery in
Texas City, Texas on Wednesday, sources said.
* Light Louisiana Sweet for April delivery fell 60
cents to a midpoint of a $2.60 premium and was bid and offered
between a $2.40 and a $2.80 a barrel premium to U.S. crude
futures .
* Mars Sour weakened 40 cents to a midpoint of a
40-cent discount and traded between a 60-cent discount and a
20-cent discount a barrel to U.S. crude futures .
* WTI Midland fell 25 cents to trade at a midpoint
of a 85-cent premium and traded between a 70-cent and a $1 a
barrel premium to U.S. crude futures .
* West Texas Sour gained 5 cents to a midpoint of
a 15-cent premium and was traded between flat and 30 cents a
barrel premium to U.S. crude futures .
* WTI at East Houston, also known as MEH, traded between
$1.00 and $1.30 over WTI.
* ICE Brent May futures fell 78 cents to settle at
$75.91 a barrel.
* WTI April crude futures down 94 cents to settle at
$69.96 a barrel.
* The Brent/WTI spread widened 14 cents to
minus $5.99, after hitting a high of minus $5.68 and a low of
minus $5.99.
(Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by David
Gregorio)
@ArathySom))
