NEW YORK, Nov 12 (Reuters) - U.S. cash crudes firmed sharply on Thursday as futures plunged after government data showed U.S. crude and product inventories expanded last week.
Cash crudes firmed against futures as futures time spreads widened and the premium of West Texas Intermediate to Europe's Brent crude narrowed.
Bonito sour traded for 30 cents a barrel above WTI , after government data showed inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI futures, grew 1.5 million barrels last week, signaling low refiner demand for WTI. Crude and product stocks rose across the board last week, the data showed.
Mars was up as much as 50 cents to -$1.90. Poseidon gained up to 15 cents a barrel to trade for -$1.80. Light Louisiana Sweet gained 25 cents to trade for +$1.50. Heavy Louisiana Sweet was up 40 cents to +75 cents.
The Minerals Management Service said 28,889 barrels a day of crude production remained shut in around the Gulf of Mexico following storm evacuations of platforms earlier in the week due to Tropical Storm Ida, which made landfall on Tuesday.
NYMEX futures fell $2.54 a barrel to $76.74 after market settlement. Brent fell $2.02 to $75.93 a barrel. The spread between front-month, or December WTI and barrels for delivery in January rose to 69 cents, up from 62 cents on Wednesday.
WTI's premium to Brent shrank to 81 cents a barrel, down from $1.38 on Wednesday.
On the West Coast, Alaska North Slope crude oil last sold Wednesday for December delivery, unchanged at $2 a barrel under WTI.
Buyers of California crudes lowered posted prices by $2.35 a barrel. --------------------------------------------------------------
See for Reuters' generic refining margins
See for the WTI front/second month spread
See for front month WTI/Brent futures spread
See for Reuters' assessment of Dated Brent
See for Reuters assessed tanker rates
See for assessed domestic crude differentials
See for outright U.S. cash crude prices
See for a list of U.S. refinery outages
See for U.S. EIA inventory reports and forecasts
See for recent cash crude deals --------------------------------------------------------------
(Reporting by Joshua Schneyer; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
((Email: joshua.schneyer@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646-223-6051; Reuters Messaging: joshua.schneyer.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: MARKETS USCRUDE (For help: Click 'Contact Us' in your desk top, click here or call 1-800-738-8377 for Reuters Products and 1-888-463-3383 for Thomson products; For client training: training.americas@thomsonreuters.com ; +1 646-223-5546) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Cash crudes firmed against futures as futures time spreads widened and the premium of West Texas Intermediate to Europe's Brent crude narrowed.
Bonito sour traded for 30 cents a barrel above WTI , after government data showed inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI futures, grew 1.5 million barrels last week, signaling low refiner demand for WTI. Crude and product stocks rose across the board last week, the data showed.
Mars was up as much as 50 cents to -$1.90. Poseidon gained up to 15 cents a barrel to trade for -$1.80. Light Louisiana Sweet gained 25 cents to trade for +$1.50. Heavy Louisiana Sweet was up 40 cents to +75 cents.
The Minerals Management Service said 28,889 barrels a day of crude production remained shut in around the Gulf of Mexico following storm evacuations of platforms earlier in the week due to Tropical Storm Ida, which made landfall on Tuesday.
NYMEX futures fell $2.54 a barrel to $76.74 after market settlement. Brent fell $2.02 to $75.93 a barrel. The spread between front-month, or December WTI and barrels for delivery in January rose to 69 cents, up from 62 cents on Wednesday.
WTI's premium to Brent shrank to 81 cents a barrel, down from $1.38 on Wednesday.
On the West Coast, Alaska North Slope crude oil last sold Wednesday for December delivery, unchanged at $2 a barrel under WTI.
Buyers of California crudes lowered posted prices by $2.35 a barrel. --------------------------------------------------------------
See for Reuters' generic refining margins
See for the WTI front/second month spread
See for front month WTI/Brent futures spread
See for Reuters' assessment of Dated Brent
See for Reuters assessed tanker rates
See for assessed domestic crude differentials
See for outright U.S. cash crude prices
See for a list of U.S. refinery outages
See for U.S. EIA inventory reports and forecasts
See for recent cash crude deals --------------------------------------------------------------
(Reporting by Joshua Schneyer; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
((Email: joshua.schneyer@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646-223-6051; Reuters Messaging: joshua.schneyer.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: MARKETS USCRUDE (For help: Click 'Contact Us' in your desk top, click here or call 1-800-738-8377 for Reuters Products and 1-888-463-3383 for Thomson products; For client training: training.americas@thomsonreuters.com ; +1 646-223-5546) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.