off-the-wire

US Cash Crude-Coastal grades strengthen despite narrowest WTI/Brent spread since June

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters
April 28 (Reuters) - U.S. coastal cash crude grades strengthened on Friday, dealers said, despite the narrowest discount since June of U.S. crude to international benchmark Brent. U.S. crude's discount to Brent narrowed to $3.21 a barrel, the most since June. A narrower discount typically makes U.S.-linked crudes less attractive to foreign buyers.


Coastal grades Light Louisiana Sweet and Mars Sour both strengthened, while inland grades WTI Midland and West Texas Sour were mixed. Oil prices will pick up pace towards $90 a barrel over the course of this year as production cuts by OPEC+ and rebounding China demand shield against a deteriorating economic backdrop in the West, a Reuters poll showed on Friday. U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a second week in a row for the first time since March, keeping the count steady in April, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said on Friday. The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose two to 755 in the week to April 28.


Oil rigs were unchanged this week at 591, but inched down by one in April in their fifth monthly decline. Money managers cut their net long U.S. crude futures and options positions by 19,179 contracts to 180,443 in the week to April 25, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.
* Light Louisiana Sweet for June delivery gained half a dollar at a midpoint of a $2 premium and was seen bid and offered between a $1.9 and $2.1 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures ?

* Mars Sour gained 10 cents at a midpoint of a $1.5 discount and was seen bid and offered between a $1.6 and $1.4 a barrel discount to U.S. crude futures ?

* WTI Midland gained half a cent at a midpoint of a 65-cent premium and was seen bid and offered between a 55-cent and 75-cent a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures ?

* West Texas Sour weakened 10 cents at a midpoint of a 85-cent discount and was seen bid and offered between a 95-cent and 75-cent a barrel discount to U.S. crude futures ?

* WTI at East Houston , also known as MEH, traded between 80-cent and $1 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures ?

* ICE Brent June futures rose $1.17 to settle at $79.54 a barrel on Friday?.

* WTI June crude futures rose $2.02 to settle at $76.78 a barrel on Friday?.

* The Brent/WTI spread narrowed, after hitting a high of minus $3.21 and a low of minus $4.10. (Reporting by Stephanie Kelly in New York; editing by Diane Craft)

Messaging: stephanie.kelly.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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