Random Update Brent-WTI Spread -- February 15, 2016

I track the spread here, periodically. Remember, also, this change.

From February 8, 2016, a dynamic link:

Brent WTI Spread is at a current level of 1.93, an increase of 0.44 or 29.53% from the previous market day. This is a decrease of 2.29 or 54.27% from last year and is higher than the long term average of 0.7531.

From Yahoo!Finance:

NYMEX near-month WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude oil futures prices fell 8.1% in the week ending February 5, 2016. WTI crude oil prices closed at $30.89 per barrel on Friday, February 5, compared to $33.62 per barrel for the week ending January 29, 2016. In comparison, Brent oil first-line futures prices fell 2% to $34.06 per barrel in the week ending February 5 from $34.74 at the end of the previous week. Thus, WTI crude oil prices fell more during the week, resulting in an increase in the WTI-Brent spread.

From Market Realist, February 10, 2016 (see first comment below; Market Realist may be comparing March apples to April oranges):

The current Brent-WTI spread is at $2.36 per barrel as of Tuesday, February 9, 2016.

Brent and WTI crude oil prices settled at $37.72 and $36.76 per barrel, respectively, on January 4, 2016. The Brent-WTI crude oil spread was $1.04 per barrel on the first trading day of 2016.

The lifting of the US crude oil export ban boosted US crude oil prices in early 2016. US crude oil prices also rose due to slowing US crude oil production. However, the long-term oversupply concerns and record production from OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) weighed on Brent crude oil prices. So Brent prices fell more than WTI, making the Brent-WTI spread narrow in early 2016.

US crude oil production has not slowed down in 2016 as expected. So US oil prices started to fall more than expected in 2016. But speculation of a collective production cut from OPEC and non-OPEC boosted Brent more than WTI in the last two weeks.

However, the fading ties of production cuts are putting pressure on oil prices. Rising supplies are also putting pressure on US oil prices. So the Brent-WTI spread widened in February.

By the end of the week, according to an e-mail from a reader, the WTI-Brent spread had gone to $3.75.

This was posted back on December 17, 2015:

Some analysts suggest WTI has to have a $4 premium to Brent to make WTI competitive; right now, WTI is selling about $1.10 less than Brent. The WTI-Brent spread will take on huge importance.