Thursday, April 25, 2013

Brent-WTI Spread Drops to Another 52-week Low

From Bespoke Investment Group:
While gold has been hogging the headlines of the commodity space in recent weeks, there has been a notable move within the oil space over the last several weeks as well.  It was only a little more than two months ago that a barrel of Brent crude oil (global benchmark price) was $23 more than a barrel of WTI (US benchmark price).  Today, the spread between the two dropped to $10.50, which is the lowest level since January 2012.

Historically (prior to the last three years), WTI crude has traded right around the same level as Brent crude, so there is still a ways to go before we get back to that type of environment.  It is still encouraging, though, to see the spread between the two benchmark prices narrowing.  Gas prices have typically been more sensitive to moves in Brent crude oil, so any move that makes Brent crude oil cheaper on a relative and/or absolute basis is good for prices at the pump.