Alaska North Slope crude edged up 4 cents as benchmark cash crude West Texas Intermediate was steady on Monday. ANS sold on Friday at 25 cents per barrel above WTI for a 300,000-barrel cargo due for delivery in June, according to the buyer and seller.
ANS has trailed WTI for years, at times separated from the benchmark price by $2 to $3 a barrel. ANS finished on Monday in a bid-offer spread of $63.84/$63.94 per barrel. ANS traded twice on April 10 with 300,000-barrel June cargoes moving as high as even with West Texas Intermediate-Cushing for June. Trade in ANS is limited as most producers either sell the oil under term contracts or take the crude into their own West Coast refining systems.