US oil prices pulled back sharply from last week's 16-month high on Monday as traders locked in profits from a blistering rally that briefly sent US crude to a premium over Brent for the first time in nearly three years. European benchmark Brent increased its premium over US West Texas Intermediate on Monday, with the September contract trading $1.47 higher than its US equivalent as the squeeze on prompt US supplies eased.
The August WTI contract tumbled more than 1 percent to below $107 a barrel ahead of its expiration later in the day, while the September contract showed smaller losses. "We thought $110 was a price target but the more the market dips into this range the more you'll see profiteers," said Rich Ilczyszyn, chief market strategist and founder of iitrader.com LLC in Chicago. The WTI contract for August delivery lost $1.14 cents, settling at $106.91.
September WTI fell $1.71 to $106.65, converging with the front-month contract as traders settled their August positions. The October WTI contract was significantly weaker, trading at $1.47 below the September price. September Brent crude gained slightly, climbing 8 cents to settle at $108.15. Gasoline futures fell harder than crude, dropping 2.2 percent to $3.0547 a gallon, even as Valero reported the gasoline-making unit at its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, is expected to be shut through late July. Gasoline futures hit a 4-1/2 month high on Friday at $3.16, but traders said pressure was easing with the end of the US summer gasoline season in sight.
The convergence of the two front-month crude benchmarks comes as increased pipeline capacity has drained the glut of oil at the WTI delivery point of Cushing, Oklahoma, to the US Gulf Coast, where refinery demand has been high. The easing of the Cushing glut has not led to lower prices at the Gulf Coast as refineries there are eager to cash in on robust margins and exports.
The price rally has also been driven by concerns that the market is flipping from glut to drought, fuelling a sharper run in prompt contracts to create a backwardated market, with near-term prices higher than those further in the future. "The extraordinarily strong backwardation is strengthening and bringing everyone into the WTI," said Olivier Jakob, an analyst at Petromatrix in Zug, Switzerland.
Brent could garner support from a stronger demand outlook and supply risks in the Middle East and Sudan, according to Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank. Hedge funds amassed record bets on rising US crude oil prices in the week to July 16, trade data by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed. A pledge by the Group of 20 nations, which account for 90 percent of the world economy, to put growth before austerity has fuelled hopes of a recovery in the consumption of commodities. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won a decisive victory in upper house elections, which was seen as a boost for his radical economic stimulus policies.
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