Oil hovers below $91 as US crude supplies jump

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By ALEX KENNEDY

SINGAPORE (AP) - Oil prices hovered below $91 a barrel Wednesday in Asia as a report showed U.S. gasoline and crude supplies rose more than expected last week, suggesting the recovery in demand remains uneven.

Benchmark crude for March delivery was up 7 cents at $90.84 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.42 to settle at $90.77 a barrel on Tuesday.

In London, Brent crude gained 16 cents to $101.90 a barrel ICE Futures exchange.

The American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that gasoline inventories rose 3.9 million barrels last week while analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., had forecast an increase of 2.0 million barrels. Inventories of crude rose 3.8 barrels and distillates fell 1.1 million barrels, the API said.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20110202/D9L4D2Q01.html

[stockholmer]

1. Profiting From the Historic Spread Between WTI Cushing and Brent Crude Oil Prices

spread is over $10 US, as of this morning


http://seekingalpha.com/article/249415-profiting-from-the-historic-spread-between-wti-cushing-and-brent-crude-oil-prices

The two most widely used and traded crude oil bench marks are West Texas Intermediate (WTI) (to be delivered at Cushing, Okla.) and Brent (delivered at Brent in Europe). WTI crude is the U.S benchmark and used for 40-50% of the world’s crude oil. Brent crude is made up of different types of crude oil found in the North Sea. Brent is the European benchmark for 50-60% of the world’s crude. Both of these crude oils trade as futures on the Nymex and the ICE.

[JDPriestly]

2. In 1974, spot crude ranged maybe up to $4.50 per barrel depending on .

country of origin and sulfur content. That's what I recall anyway.