WTI and Brent crude futures settled in positive territory, although Brent did retrace the majority of its upside move to finish with minor gains. This came after news that operator of the Cormorant Alpha platform in the North Sea is preparing to restore the flow of an estimated 80,000 BPD after they closed the pipeline earlier this week following the discovery of a leak. Brent's premium to WTI retreated back below USD 17BBL as participants continue to expect the recent expansion of the Seaway pipeline carrying crude oil from the US Midwest to the Gulf Coast to narrow the spread between the two benchmark contracts. WTI saw an aggressive move to the upside following a drawdown against consensus in the headline DoE Crude Inventories figure, but has pared some of that move in intervening trade. As a reminder at the pit close Brent Feb futures expired alongside WTI Feb options.
Print 19:32, 16 Jan 2013 - Commodities - Source: RANsquawk
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