WTI oil trades near $86, US oil inventories distorting price

10 February 2011 10 February 2011

BonTrade

WTI oil futures open today’s trading session near $86 a barrel, with traders continuing to drive a wedge between prices of WTI crude and other benchmark oil grades due to concerns over large oil inventories in the US Midwest.

Latest WTI Oil Price

US Light crude oil futures for March 2011 delivery was trading at $86.54 a barrel, 08.00 GMT this morning on the NYMEX.

WTI and Brent Spread at Record

The spread between WTI and Brent contracts hovers close to a record $15 a barrel, driven largely by a greater inflow of US crude into the key delivery point for WTI at Cushing, Okla. Normally WTI and Brent oil prices trade within $2 of each other.

US crude oil inventories at Cushing unexpectedly fell last week although volumes in storage remain close to record highs. The 927,000 barrel decline was likely due to bad weather that had prevented US refineries taking fuel deliveries by truck, and analysts think inventories will start rising once more when roads become passable again.

Brent Oil Price More Accurate Indicator

“It does appear that WTI is so disconnected because of its landlocked nature that it’s operating in a vacuum. We advise people to look at Brent oil prices as a more accurate benchmark of the global oil market rather than focus on WTI.” said BarCap oil analyst Yingxu Yu.