Brent crude trading at $3 above WTI

Crude oil prices were mixed by early afternoon in New York on Monday as Iran and the UK remained at odds over 15 British naval personnel being held by the Iranians, whom the Iranians accuse of having crossed into Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf. Since the crisis began 12 days ago, Brent crude has advanced to now trade $3 higher than West Texas Intermediate crude. This is unusual in that WTI prices are usually higher than those for Brent.

Brent crude was 48 cents higher to $68.58 per barrel late in the day on the Intercontinental Exchange in London, while early afternoon found WTI 30 cents lower to $65.59 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Helping to keep WTI prices lower than prices for Brent were reports that the delivery point for Nymex WTI contracts in Cushing, Oklahoma is nearly at its full storage capacity. Although this does not mean that this is true of all storage facilities in the US, having excess oil in storage at the main holding point has kept prices lower than they might otherwise be.