U.S. Oil Benchmark Trades At Parity With Brent Crude

New York Mercantile Exchange-traded futures on West Texas Intermediate crude oil traded at parity with Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, on Tuesday. February WTI futures were up 46 cents, or 1.2%, at $36.27 a barrel, while February Brent futures on London's ICE exchange fell 9 cents, or 0.2%, to $36.27 a barrel. Analysts tied the move in the spread to a combination of factors, including the expected lifting of a ban on U.S. oil exports, a recent increase in North Sea production of Brent crude, and unwinding of short WTI/long Brent spread trades ahead of the end of the year.