U.S. Crude Exports Fall
As the U.S. sees less crude imports, it has exported less oil to Europe.
U.S. crude exports to Europe fell to 1.86 million bpd in September and 1.84 million bpd in August, from 2.01 million bpd in July, Kpler data showed.
Lower exports to Europe impacted Brent benchmark crude futures prices, some traders said.
Tight supply led the premium for front-month Brent crude futures to rise to as much as $3.26 a barrel above the second month, the highest since 2022.
Adi Imsirovic of consultant Surrey Clean Energy and a senior associate at CSIS said tightness in the U.S. crude market is being felt more quickly on international markets than in the past because of the increased role of U.S. crude in the benchmark.
“The fact that it is more direct now is probably a good thing,” said Imsirovic, also a veteran oil trader. “The U.S. market has a more direct link with the key global benchmark than you had before and you can see it right away.”
Related Posts
The introduction in June of U.S. crude grade WTI Midland to help set the price of the dated Brent benchmark assessed by S&P Global Commodity Insights means that the U.S. crude market’s influence over prices abroad has increased.
Dated Brent, used globally for trades, is now based on the price of five North Sea crudes and that of U.S. grade WTI Midland. Large exports of Midland to Europe during the summer helped keep a lid on Brent prices, traders and analysts said.
