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US crude oil futures flip to contango for very first time given that Feb.

U.S. unrefined futures turned to a contango structure for the first time since February on Monday, with West Texas Intermediate for January shipment trading at a premium to the December contract << CLc1CLc2 > in a. sign that supply tightness is easing.

The discount rate for front-month U.S. crude futures against. the second-month agreement broadened to as much as 4 cents throughout. the day. The December contract is due to end on Wednesday and. the market is eyeing higher supply.

Under a contango, traders are wagering oil will fetch a. more powerful price in the future than current spot rates,. validating the expense of storage.

We have seen a boost in crude stocks in. Cushing, the delivery point of West Texas Intermediate,. leading to a less tight market, stated Giovanni Staunovo, an. expert at UBS.

Stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, the shipment point for WTI. futures, were at 25.2 million barrels at the end of recently,. a little down on the week however recovering from an 11-month low of. 22.7 million barrels in mid-September, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

However levels still stay listed below the 10-year seasonal. average of 42.5 million barrels. Tank storage of listed below 20. million barrels, or in between 10% and 20% of Cushing's over 94.4. million barrels of functional capacity, is thought about close to. operational lows.

The flip in U.S. unrefined futures structure to contango is. likely momentary, Staunovo added, indicating the nearing. expiry.

The rest of the WTI forward curve remains in. backwardation, where nearer-term contracts trade above later on. ones, although those spreads are narrowing.

Spot prices have actually fallen in recent weeks, resulting in a. flatter curve structure, Staunovo stated.

U.S. unrefined futures have been trading below $70. per barrel for the last 5 sessions, LSEG data showed.

(source: Reuters)