NEW YORK, Jan 20 (Reuters) - U.S. cash crudes mostly firmed on Wednesday ahead of a three-day monthly roll period, as futures prices fell.
The February NYMEX futures contract expired Wednesday, giving way to a roll period ahead of a monthly pipeline scheduling deadline on Monday, after which February grades cease to trade and give way to March delivery cash crude trading.
The roll period is usually marked by erratic prices as traders scramble to close their books.
Light Louisiana Sweet rose 15 cents a barrel to $2.30 above West Texas Intermediate. Mars sour sold for as little as $1.60 a barrel below WTI, up from minus $2.10 on Tuesday. Bonito added 15 cents to trade for $1.10 above WTI.
The February WTI futures contract expired Wednesday after falling $1.40 a barrel to $77.62, in a broad sell-off in commodities markets.
March Brent crude settled down $1.31 at $76.32 a barrel, with the spread between March WTI and Brent narrowing to $1.55 a barrel, down from $1.63 on Tuesday. The spread between March WTI and April barrels narrowed to 47 cents a barrel, down from 49 cents on Tuesday.
Data released late Wednesday from the American Petroleum Institute showed that U.S. crude oil inventories logged a surprise drop last week while distillates fell more than expected.
Crude inventories fell by 1.8 million barrels in the week to Jan. 15. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a 2.4 million barrel build on average. Distillate fuels fell by 3.4 million barrels, API said, versus analyst forecasts of a 100,000-barrel drawdown.
But refinery utilization remained much lower than seasonal averages, falling 2.5 percentage points to 77.3 percent of capacity last week, API said. The lower utilization rate showed it remained 'a buyer's market for cash crude,' a trader said.
Among other cash crudes, Thunder Horse light sour went for plus 35 cents, up 20 cents. West Texas Sour changed hands at minus $2.15, down 15 cents.Buyers lowered posted prices for California crudes by $1.40 a barrel.
(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 2010. 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.
The February NYMEX futures contract expired Wednesday, giving way to a roll period ahead of a monthly pipeline scheduling deadline on Monday, after which February grades cease to trade and give way to March delivery cash crude trading.
The roll period is usually marked by erratic prices as traders scramble to close their books.
Light Louisiana Sweet rose 15 cents a barrel to $2.30 above West Texas Intermediate. Mars sour sold for as little as $1.60 a barrel below WTI, up from minus $2.10 on Tuesday. Bonito added 15 cents to trade for $1.10 above WTI.
The February WTI futures contract expired Wednesday after falling $1.40 a barrel to $77.62, in a broad sell-off in commodities markets.
March Brent crude settled down $1.31 at $76.32 a barrel, with the spread between March WTI and Brent narrowing to $1.55 a barrel, down from $1.63 on Tuesday. The spread between March WTI and April barrels narrowed to 47 cents a barrel, down from 49 cents on Tuesday.
Data released late Wednesday from the American Petroleum Institute showed that U.S. crude oil inventories logged a surprise drop last week while distillates fell more than expected.
Crude inventories fell by 1.8 million barrels in the week to Jan. 15. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a 2.4 million barrel build on average. Distillate fuels fell by 3.4 million barrels, API said, versus analyst forecasts of a 100,000-barrel drawdown.
But refinery utilization remained much lower than seasonal averages, falling 2.5 percentage points to 77.3 percent of capacity last week, API said. The lower utilization rate showed it remained 'a buyer's market for cash crude,' a trader said.
Among other cash crudes, Thunder Horse light sour went for plus 35 cents, up 20 cents. West Texas Sour changed hands at minus $2.15, down 15 cents.Buyers lowered posted prices for California crudes by $1.40 a barrel.
(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 2010. 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.