The west Texas spread

摘要

Benchmark crude futures lost ground, and front-month Brent's premium to front-month WTI hit a record $22.63/bl on 14 July. The week was characterised by volatility, with both contracts trading in a $4-5/bl range, moving in close sympathy with macroeconomic data and the euro-dollar spread. Ice front-month Brent was at an intra-day low of $113.75/bl on 7 July and a high of $119.87/bl on 8 July. Nymex front- month WTI hit a high of $99.42/bl on 7 July before falling to $93.55/bl on 12 July, on weak US employment data and news that China's net oil imports hit an eight-month low in June.