Morning Crude Oil Market Report

By Roger Baettig | April 17 2012 9:25 AM

May crude oil prices traded higher throughout the initial morning hours, supported by gains in European and US equity markets, a successful Spanish debt auction and better than expected German sentiment readings. Some traders also suggested that support for WTI crude oil might be coming from an active spread trade between Brent and WTI crude oil, which is down nearly $6.00 from the April high. Yesterday's breakdown in the June Brent vs. WTI crude oil spread came on news that the Seaway Pipeline reversal might come sooner than expected. The reversal would enable the flow of crude oil supplies from Cushing Oklahoma down to the Gulf coast, helping to relieve supply constraints for Brent crude oil.