The growing spread between the Brent and WTI prices, as well as the reduced freight rates made the export of American oil to Europe profitable. Traders lease tankers, preparing for shipments overseas, freight brokers say.

The growth of the futures premium price for the European Brent oil benchmark as per the American WTI benchmark and the reduced freight rates allowed the trading companies to start earning on deliveries of American oil to Europe - an opportunity that in recent months they were deprived due to the glut of the world oil market, as well as unfavorable delivery conditions. In the last two months, the premium of Brent to WTI futures did not exceed $1, making deliveries of American oil to Europe unprofitable, writes Reuters. Now, after a change in the situation, traders lease tankers, preparing for oversea shipments, told the Reuters and Bloomberg freight brokers. The futures premium for the European oil benchmark Brent to the American WTI exceeded $ 1.5 per barrel on Thursday, July 21, reaching a three-month maximum. On Friday evening Brent cost $ 1.41 more than WTI, according to the Bloomberg terminal. In December 2015, the US President Barack Obama lifted the ban on the export of American oil, which had being valid for the past 40 years.

Since then, the opportunities for the supply of American oil abroad have been limited due to glut in the world market, as well as unprofitable terms of delivery. Nevertheless, the oil exports from the US began to grow. This year in May the figure rose to a record 662 thousand barrels per day - the maximum since 1920, according to the US statistics. The first export contract in 40 years was concluded in the US at the end of December last year. The largest importer for the reporting month was Canada, which gained 308 thousand barrels. It is followed by the Netherlands (110,000 barrels), Curacao (67,000 barrels), Great Britain (36,000 barrels), Japan (29,000 barrels) and Italy (23,000 barrels).