Singapore — US crude oil hit fresh two-year highs on Friday, as the shutdown of a major crude pipeline from Canada to the United States tightened North American markets. Trading activity is expected to be very low on Friday due to the US Thanksgiving holiday. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $58.37 a barrel at 2.06am GMT, up 35c or 0.6% from their last settlement. They reached a high of $58.58 a barrel earlier on Friday, the highest level since July 1 2015. Brent crude futures were down 7c at $63.48. In a sign of a tightening market, both crude benchmarks are in backwardation, where spot prices are higher than those for future delivery, which makes it unattractive for traders to store oil for later sale. The closure of the 590,000-barrels-a-day Keystone pipeline, following a spill last week, has helped drive up US crude prices as it reduces stocks in the storage hub of Cushing, Oklahoma, traders said.
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