The Brent-WTI spread narrowed to as much as minus $3.82, around its narrowest discount since December 2022. An arb stronger than minus $6.00 hurts U.S. exports.
The rate of refinery utilization was seen 0.6 percentage point higher at 89.3% of total capacity for the week ended April 7, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday. It had declined for two straight weeks.
U.S. crude oil inventories likely fell by about 2.5 million barrels last week, the poll found. Crude oil stored in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 1.58 million barrels last week to its lowest in nearly 40 years, data from the Department of Energy showed, on the back of a mandated sale of oil from the emergency stash. Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil and natural gas production in the seven biggest shale basins is expected to rise in May to the highest on record, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Monday.
In refining news, Suncor on Monday said planned maintenance underway at plant 2 of 103,000-barrel-per-day Commerce City refinery in Colorado is expected to last through early June.
* Light Louisiana Sweet for May delivery was flat
at a midpoint of a $2.15 premium and was seen bid and offered
between a $1.90 and a $2.40 a barrel premium to U.S. crude
futures
* Mars Sour strengthened 20 cents at a midpoint
of a 60-cent discount and traded between a 40-cent and an
80-cent a barrel discount to U.S. crude futures
* WTI Midland rose 25 cents to a midpoint of a
75-cent premium and traded between a 50-cent and a $1 barrel
premium to U.S. crude futures
* West Texas Sour strengthened 25 cents to trade
at 25-cent premium at midpoint and was seen bid and offered
between a 75-cent premium and a 25-cent a barrel discount to
U.S. crude futures
* WTI at East Houston , also known as MEH, traded
between 60-cent and a 90-cent a barrel premium to U.S. crude
futures
* ICE Brent June futures fell $1.55 to settle at
$84.76 a barrel.
* WTI May crude futures fell $1.69 to settle at $80.83 a barrel.
* The Brent/WTI spread narrowed to minus $3.86, after hitting a high of minus $3.82 and a low of minus $3.93. (Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Jamie Freed)
@ArathySom;))