HOUSTON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Light Louisiana Sweet rose as
Midland sweet fell on the U.S. cash crude market Friday, but
both were signs of weakness as futures slid nearly $3, traders
said.
Light Louisiana Sweet rose 25 cents to 85 cents a barrel over West Texas Intermediate, but that is weak compared to recent historical standards. The outright price for LLS was $41.66.
Cash WTI at Midland weakened 25 cents to -$2.00, possibly because the pipeline to the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage center is full, a trader said. The outright for Midland sweet was $38.81.
West Texas Sour dealt for -$4.35, up 55 cents. Mars sour sold for -$5.50, unchanged from offers Thursday. The outrights were $36.46 and $35.31 respectively.
Shutdown of Delek's Tyler refinery due to a fire could be forcing Midland WTI into storage, a trader said. With refinery runs down generally, even more could head for Cushing, keeping differentials weak, he said.
Sweet differentials have tanked generally since September while sours have remained more stable. With refining margins weak, the few deals being made are for as cheap a grades as possible, traders said.
In September, LLS differentials ranged from +2.10 to +5.50. WTI at Midland differentials were +5 cents to +60 cents until the end of September, when they cratered to -30 cents.
On futures markets Friday, January WTI lost $2.86 to $40.81 a barrel. January Brent skidded $2.54 to $39.74. Both were four-year lows.
On the West Coast, Alaska North Slope crude stayed $5.20 under WTI. Buyers cut their offers for California crude $2.85 to $2.95, tracking the plunge in WTI futures. ==============================================================
DATA LINKS: Energy Speed Guide Crude Speed Guide NYMEX WTI futures ICE Brent futures US crude prices US crude differentials Freight rates
NEWS LINKS: NYMEX Market reports ICE market reports US Cash crude deals Foreign crude deals Dirty tanker news Dirty tanker fixtures Weekly US oil data US crude outlook US Refinery outages US Cash oil products US products outlook ............................................................
(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Christian Wiessner)
((erwin.seba@thomsonreuters.com; +1 713 210 8508; Reuters Messaging: erwin.seba.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 2008. 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.
Light Louisiana Sweet rose 25 cents to 85 cents a barrel over West Texas Intermediate, but that is weak compared to recent historical standards. The outright price for LLS was $41.66.
Cash WTI at Midland weakened 25 cents to -$2.00, possibly because the pipeline to the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage center is full, a trader said. The outright for Midland sweet was $38.81.
West Texas Sour dealt for -$4.35, up 55 cents. Mars sour sold for -$5.50, unchanged from offers Thursday. The outrights were $36.46 and $35.31 respectively.
Shutdown of Delek's Tyler refinery due to a fire could be forcing Midland WTI into storage, a trader said. With refinery runs down generally, even more could head for Cushing, keeping differentials weak, he said.
Sweet differentials have tanked generally since September while sours have remained more stable. With refining margins weak, the few deals being made are for as cheap a grades as possible, traders said.
In September, LLS differentials ranged from +2.10 to +5.50. WTI at Midland differentials were +5 cents to +60 cents until the end of September, when they cratered to -30 cents.
On futures markets Friday, January WTI lost $2.86 to $40.81 a barrel. January Brent skidded $2.54 to $39.74. Both were four-year lows.
On the West Coast, Alaska North Slope crude stayed $5.20 under WTI. Buyers cut their offers for California crude $2.85 to $2.95, tracking the plunge in WTI futures. ==============================================================
DATA LINKS: Energy Speed Guide Crude Speed Guide NYMEX WTI futures ICE Brent futures US crude prices US crude differentials Freight rates
NEWS LINKS: NYMEX Market reports ICE market reports US Cash crude deals Foreign crude deals Dirty tanker news Dirty tanker fixtures Weekly US oil data US crude outlook US Refinery outages US Cash oil products US products outlook ............................................................
(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Christian Wiessner)
((erwin.seba@thomsonreuters.com; +1 713 210 8508; Reuters Messaging: erwin.seba.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 2008. 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.