Light Louisiana Sweet for October delivery rose to a midpoint of a $5.50 premium and was seen bid and offered between a $5.25 and $5.75 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1
Mars Sour firmed to a midpoint of a $6 premium and was seen bid and offered between a $5.00 and $7 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1
WTI Midland rose to a midpoint of a $1.1 premium and was seen bid and offered between a 90-cent and $1.30 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1
West Texas Sour rose to a midpoint of a 10-cent premium and was seen bid and offered between parity and 20-cent a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1
WTI at East Houston, also known as MEH, traded between a $1.40 and $1.80 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1
ICE Brent November futures LCOc1 rose $4.16 to settle at $94.65 a barrel on Tuesday
WTI October crude CLc1 futures rose $4.46 to settle at $90.22 a barrel on Tuesday
The Brent/WTI spread widened 68 cents to to last trade at minus $7.11, after hitting a high of minus $6.30 and a low of minus $7.11.
Coastal crude grades firm on geopolitical tensions
HOUSTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Coastal grades firmed on Tuesday to multi-month highs, dealers said, as the U.S. launched new air strikes on Iranian targets at a time when Gulf of Mexico offshore production remained weak.
The number of vessels sailing through the Strait of Hormuz was little changed on Monday compared with the weekend, hovering around five, preliminary ship-tracking data showed on Tuesday, below the 10-day average of around 14.
Two supertankers carrying Saudi oil were struck by unknown projectiles within minutes of each other while transiting outbound through the Strait of Hormuz late on Monday, according to shipping intelligence and tracking firms Marisks and Kpler.
Weak Gulf output and storm preparations supported differentials
Offshore production from the Gulf of Mexico remained weak, analysts at Energy Aspects said this week, saying it it assumed output of Poseidon and Southern Green Canyon had been most impacted.
In refining news, Motiva Enterprises and Exxon Mobil Corp are preparing their East Texas refineries for high winds and possible flooding as a developing tropical storm nears the U.S. Gulf Coast, people familiar with plant operations said on Monday.
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