Bent Crude Premium Rises to Record

Brent crude for March settlement rose 37 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $97.80 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. March Brent futures were $5.49 higher than the Nymex contract for the same month yesterday. The average differential between the contracts closest to delivery was $1.08 over the past year.

Oil for February delivery slipped 16 cents to settle at $91.38 a barrel on 17 January on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures reached $92.58 a barrel on Jan. 3, the highest intraday price since Oct. 7, 2008.

The profit, or crack spread, from converting three barrels of oil into two of gasoline and one of heating oil, surged to $15.342 on Jan. 14, an eight-month high, based on futures prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The spread slipped 1.4 percent to $15.121 on 17 January.