U.S. Gulf Coast crude grades rose on Wednesday as the WTI-Brent spread widened and as a new report showed oil stockpiles in Texas shrank over the past week, traders said. The coastal grades strengthened as the spread between U.S. crude and global benchmark Brent widened to as much as $8.58 per barrel. A widening spread encourages U.S. crude exports as domestic crude becomes cheaper compared with international oil. Crude oil inventories in Texas fell 1.6 million barrels compared with last week, traders said, citing a report by market intelligence firm Genscape earlier this week. With Saudi Arabia and its OPEC allies expected to send less crude to the United States in coming weeks, […]