US Cash Crude-Coastal grade Mars Sour reaches six-week high as Russia sanctions bite

CVR Energy

29/01/2025 21:57

Jan 29 (Reuters) - Grades broadly increased on
Wednesday, dealers said, with Mars Sour rising for the third
straight session to a six-week high as Washington's latest
sanctions on Russian crude pressured flows. 
Russia's crude oil exports from its western ports in February
are set to fall by 8% versus January's plan as Moscow increases
refining, two traders said and Reuters calculations showed,
after the latest U.S. sanctions squeezed crude exports.
Elsewhere, U.S. crude stocks rose last week as refinery
utilization slipped, the Energy Information Administration (EIA)
said, as winter storms sweeping the country hit fuelmakers'
operations and boosted distillates demand.
    Crude inventories rose by 3.5 million barrels to 415.1
million barrels in the week ended Jan. 24, the EIA said,
compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 3.2
million-barrel rise.
U.S. oil refiners are expected to have about 1.25 million
barrels per day (bpd) of capacity offline in the week ending
Jan. 31, decreasing available refining capacity by 50,000 bpd,
research company IIR Energy said on Wednesday.
    Offline capacity is expected to rise to 1.33 million bpd in
the week ending Feb. 7, IIR added.
     
     
     * Light Louisiana Sweet  WTC-LLS  for March delivery rose
10 cents to a midpoint of a $2.83 premium and was seen bid and
offered between a $2.50 and $3.15 a barrel premium to U.S. crude
futures  CLc1 
     * Mars Sour  WTC-MRS  rose 20 cents to a midpoint of a
$1.20 premium and was seen bid and offered between a $1.10 and
$1.30 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures  CLc1 
     * WTI Midland  WTC-WTM  fell 5 cents to a midpoint of a $1
premium and was seen bid and offered between a 90-cent and $1.10
a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures  CLc1 
     * West Texas Sour  WTC-WTS  rose 5 cents to a midpoint of a
50-cent premium and was seen bid and offered between a 40-cent
and 60-cent a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures  CLc1 
     * WTI at East Houston  WTC-MEH , also known as MEH, traded
between a $1.35 and $1.55 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures
 CLc1 
     * ICE Brent March futures  LCOc1  fell 91 cents to settle
at $76.58 a barrel 
     * WTI March crude  CLc1  futures fell $1.15 to settle at
$72.62 a barrel 
     * The Brent/WTI spread  WTCLc1-LCOc1  widened 16 cents to
last trade at minus $3.88, after hitting a high of minus $3.57
and a low of minus $3.96
     

(Reporting by Georgina McCartney in Houston; Editing by Will
Dunham)
((Georgina.McCartney@tr.com))