Oil Gains On OPEC Report; US Crude Discount To Brent Deepens

Oil prices rose on May 14 as OPEC reported that the global oil glut has been virtually eliminated, while U.S. crude’s discount to global benchmark Brent widened to more than $7, its deepest in five months.

Global benchmark Brent was up $1.05/bbl at $78.17/bbl by 1:05 p.m. CT and U.S. crude rose 19 cents to $71.17.

The report from OPEC “was bullish. That absolute plunge in Venezuelan production … just highlights how tenuous the market is in terms of the supply and demand balance,” John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, said.