US Gulf crude Mars nearly $101/bl
US domestic crude values soared on top of near $10/bl gains on the basis Friday, with Mars hitting its fourth consecutive six-year high premium and an outright value of near $101/bl.
US Gulf medium sour Mars was at $100.72/bl with premiums to the US benchmark as high as $11/bl. The flat price was at its highest since July 2022 following the start of the war in Ukraine earlier that year and low global oil inventories.
Friday's Mars volume-weighted average premium of $9.82/bl was the fourth-consecutive daily six-year record this week. This boosted it to a premium over June Ice Brent of around $13.50/bl using futures values at the time of Nymex settlement.
Both US crude differentials and the underlying futures prices made large gains ahead of the weekend because of Middle Eastern crude and products supply disruptions. The strait of Hormuz that most crude from the region must pass through has been effectively closed because of the war.
Weighted-average premiums for the US Gulf Medium sours Friday gained roughly $3/bl from the prior session, with HLS up by $3.65/bl and LLS by $5/bl. WTI Houston and WTI Midland premiums saw increases of 40-60¢/bl.
The prompt April Nymex WTI contract settled up by $9.89/bl at $90.90/bl, putting it at a roughly $3.40/bl premium to May and $8.70/bl premium to June. The surging backwardation, where prompt prices are higher relative to forward, lifted the Argus differential to CMA Nymex assessment to $4.68/bl. This is an increase of $4.40/bl from a week ago and the highest since July 2022.
