Mars sour crude strengthened on Friday, while WTI Midland and WTI at East Houston eased, as supply of sour grades remained tight.

Mars sour gained 15 cents to a midpoint of a $1.75 premium. The grade last week firmed to a $2.00 premium, its strongest since May 2020, after Saudi Arabia extended its output cuts through August and hiked prices for its oil.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s plans to buy back 6 million barrels of sour crude oil to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has also helped buoy demand for sour crude.

WTI Midland and WTI at East Houston eased 5 cents each.

Meanwhile, U.S. oil rigs counts, an indicator of future production, fell 3 to 537 this week, their lowest since April 2022.

Brent/WTI spread remained range bound, hitting a high of minus $4.52 and a low of minus $4.65.

Light Louisiana Sweet for August delivery gained 30 cents at a midpoint of a $2.80 premium and was seen bid and offered between a $2.60 and $3.00 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures ​

Mars Sour gained 15 cents at a midpoint of a $1.75 premium and was seen bid and offered between a $1.50 and $2 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures ​

WTI Midland fell 5 cents at a midpoint of a $1.45 premium and was seen bid and offered between a $1.20 and $1.70 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1 ​

West Texas Sour gained 10 cents at a midpoint of a 80-cent premium and was seen bid and offered between a 60-cent and $1.00 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1 ​

WTI at East Houston, also known as MEH, traded between a $1.50 and $1.80 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1 ​

ICE Brent September futures fell $1.49 to settle at $79.87 a barrel on Friday.

WTI August crude futures fell $1.47 to settle at $75.42 a barrel on Friday.

The Brent/WTI spread narrowed 8 cents to minus $4.52, after hitting a high of minus $4.52 and a low of minus $4.65.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Will Dunham)