BLBG:U.S. Gulf Coast Oil Premiums Weaken as Brent-WTI Gap Narrows
U.S. Gulf Coast crude premiums weakened as the gap between West Texas Intermediate and Brent narrowed for the fourth consecutive day.
Brent crude’s premium over WTI, based on June futures prices, narrowed 48 cents to $13.02 a barrel at 12:45 p.m. in New York. When Brent falls versus WTI, it typically weakens the value of low-sulfur U.S. grades that compete with West African oil priced against the European benchmark.
Light Louisiana Sweet’s premium to WTI decreased 20 cents to $14.80 a barrel. Heavy Louisiana Sweet’s premium narrowed 25 cents to a premium of $15.
Mars Blend’s premium narrowed 55 cents to $9.15 at 11:55 a.m. New York time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Poseidon’s premium weakened 40 cents to $7.70, while Southern Green Canyon’s lost 40 cents to $7.85. The three grades are used in the Argus Sour Crude Index. Thunder Horse, a sour crude with lower sulfur content than the other three grades, added 10 cents against WTI to a premium of $12.85.
Western Canada Select’s discount to WTI was unchanged at $12.75 a barrel. Syncrude’s premium was steady at $1.50 and Bakken oil’s discount was unchanged at $2.
To contact the reporter on this story: Aaron Clark in New York at aclark27@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net
