U.S. Cash Crude-Grades broadly firm despite narrowing WTI/Brent spread

US Physical Therapy

04/11/2022 20:11

Nov 4 (Reuters) - U.S. physical crude grades
strengthened broadly on Friday, dealers said, with Light
Louisian Sweet rising to a two-week high, despite a narrowing
WTI/Brent spread. 
    Light Louisiana Sweet  WTC-LLS  for December delivery gained
30 cents at a midpoint of a $2.90 premium, the strongest since
Oct. 21. Mars Sour  WTC-MRS , another coastal grade, gained 90
cents at a midpoint of a $4 discount, the highest since Oct. 19.
    Inland grades WTI Midland  WTC-WTM  and West Texas Sour
 WTC-WTS  also strengthened. 
    The Brent/WTI spread  WTCLc1-LCOc1  narrowed 37 cents to
minus $7.12, the highest since Oct. 18. A narrower spread makes
U.S. crudes less attractive to foreign buyers. 
    Money managers raised their net long U.S. crude futures and
options positions in the week to Nov. 1 by 15,117 contracts to
186,450, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
said on Friday. 
    Oil futures settled up by more than 5% on Friday amid
uncertainty around future interest rate hikes by the U.S.
Federal Reserve, while a looming EU ban on Russian oil and the
possibility of China easing some COVID restrictions supported
markets.  O/R 
 *  Light Louisiana Sweet  WTC-LLS  for December delivery gained
30 cents at a midpoint of a $2.9 premium and was seen bid and
offered between a $2.8 and $3 a barrel premium to U.S. crude
futures  CLc1  ​ 
 *  Mars Sour  WTC-MRS  gained 90 cents at a midpoint of a $4
discount and was seen bid and offered between a $4.1 and $3.9 a
barrel discount to U.S. crude futures  CLc1  ​ 
 *  WTI Midland  WTC-WTM  gained half a cent at a midpoint of a
$1.85 premium and was seen bid and offered betweena $1.75 and
$1.95 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures  CLc1  ​ 
 *  West Texas Sour  WTC-WTS  gained 60 cents at a midpoint of a
90-cent discount and was seen bid and offered between a $1 and
80-cent a barrel discount to U.S. crude futures  CLc1  ​ 
 *  WTI at East Houston  WTC-MEH , also known as MEH, traded
betweena $2.15 and $2.35 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures
 CLc1  ​ 
 *  ICE Brent January futures  LCOc1  rose $3.90 to settle at
$98.57 a barrel on Friday​. 
 *  WTI December crude  CLc1  futures rose $4.44 to settle at
$92.61 a barrel on Friday​. 
 *  The Brent/WTI spread  WTCLc1-LCOc1  narrowed 37 cents to
minus $7.12, after hitting a high of minus $7.12 and a low of
minus $7.55.
 (Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar; Editing by Daniel Wallis,
Kirsten Donovan)
 ((arathy.s@thomsonreuters.com; +1 832 208 3362; Twitter:
@ArathySom;))