Wildfire Threat Pushes Key US Crude Spread to Nine-Month High
- WTI prompt spread gain also fueled by options market moves
- Measure gauges market’s near-term supply, demand balances
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A key US crude spread that gauges short-term market tightness surged to the highest in almost nine months as wildfires risk disrupting supplies from Canada, with a frenzy in the options market accelerating the gain.
The premium for US benchmark West Texas Intermediate’s front-month futures over the next contract — known as the prompt spread — soared as high as $1.60 a barrel, the highest since October.