Brent crude oil was lower Thursday morning with supplies plentiful and demand limited, with oil for immediate delivery selling particularly cheap. Physical crude oil prices are weak, said VTB analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov, with North Sea grades selling at a discount to dated Brent, the benchmark. In the futures market, meanwhile, the nearest month continues to trade at a notable discount to later months–a market condition known as contango. “We believe Brent prices are well reflective of the current fundamental picture, justified by the comfortable supply-side cushion and weak refining demand in Europe,” Mr. Kryuchenkov said. The latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed a 2.1 million barrel draw in crude stocks. “A crude stock decline was driven by continuing high refinery operations, ” BNP Paribas said in a report. However, crude stocks at the Nymex delivery point of Cushing, Okla., rose for a fourth […]