* Crude futures fall more than 1 percent * Brent-U.S. crude spread seesaws, ends wider * BP starting crude unit at Whiting, Indiana, refinery NEW YORK, June 21 (Reuters) - Cash crude differentials inthe United States were mixed on Friday, the first day of theroll period in the cash market, and as the transatlantic spreadbetween Brent and U.S. crude futures seesawed before endingwider, traders and brokers said. The "roll" is the three-day period after the expiration of afront-month U.S. light sweet crude contract. The front-monthU.S. July crude contract expired on Thursday. Roll price trades for July barrels of West TexasIntermediate (WTI) crude at Cushing, Oklahoma, werecompleted at minus 10 and minus 8 cents. The differential represents the approximate relation of theprice of July barrels to August crude and the recent contangostructure in the forward curve for oil futures. Contango, or a higher price for months further out than forfront-month barrels, can indicate lagging demand for promptbarrels versus oil for delivery in later months. This week, contracts further out on U.S. crude's tradingcurve fell more than near-term contracts, leaving near-termmonths priced at a premium, a condition traders callbackwardation. The spread between August and September crude onFriday seesawed from a 10-cent deficit to a 15-cent premium forthe front-month over the nearby contract, before ending withAugust valued at 6 cents more based on settlements. The roll trades during last month's roll trade period werecompleted at minus 25 and minus 30 cents, reflecting thestronger contango structure of the market. BRENT-U.S. CRUDE SPREAD Crude futures Brent crude's premium to U.S. crude ended at$7.22 a barrel based on August contract settlements. The spreadbetween those contracts ended on Thursday at $7.01. Brent's premium fell to $6.54 intraday on Friday, thenarrowest the spread has been since November 2011. The premiumwas as high as $7.36 on Friday. Usually, the wider the arbitrage the more supportive forU.S. cash crude differentials, while a narrower spread oftenpressures differentials. This holds especially true for sweetgrades that are priced in line with global waterborne crudessuch as Brent. The spread between front-month Brent and U.S. crudecontracts reached $10.01 intraday on June 5, but has narrowedsince as inventories at the Cushing hub have been falling. Increased pipeline capacity moving crude oil out of Cushingto the refinery-rich Gulf Coast, along with the return of idledMidwest refineries, has helped decrease Cushing's bulginginventories, traders and analysts said. While cash crude trades are usually priced against the U.S.light sweet crude futures contract, during the roll period thedifferentials for U.S. crude grades are measured against theprice for WTI at the Cushing, Oklahoma, hub . CASH CRUDE TRADES Light Louisiana sweet for July delivery traded at$8.50, $8.40 and $8.20 over WTI at Cushing. Those differentialscompared to Thursday's trades at from $8.00 to $8.40 over thebenchmark July futures contract. U.S. crude futures are also often referred to as West TexasIntermediate (WTI), the U.S. light, sweet crude contract'sbenchmark grade deliverable at the Cushing hub. Mars sour , a Gulf of Mexico-produced grade, traded at$1.00 and $1.05 over WTI at Cushing, weaker after Thursday'strades from $1.20 to $1.80 over the benchmark futures. Eugene Island traded at $4.35 over WTI at Cushing, aslightly stronger differential after Thursday's trade at $4.30over the benchmark futures. Thunder Horse traded at $5.45 over WTI at Cushing. Ittraded Thursday at $5.50 over the futures benchmark. MIDLAND GRADES Differentials for Midland-area grades strengthened, with thenews of the anticipated start up of BP Plc's upgradedcrude distillation unit at its Whiting, Indiana, refineryhelping support the West Texas grades. BP is starting up the unit at the heart of a $4-billionoverhaul of the 405,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery. West Texas Intermediate crude at Midland on Fridaytraded at 20 cents under WTI at Cushing, stronger after tradingon Thursday at 40, 35 and 30 cents under the benchmark futures. West Texas Sour crude, also at Midland, had itsspread between bids and offers pegged 10 cents under to flat toWTI at Cushing. That was stronger than the spread pegged onThursday at 30-20 cents under the benchmark futures. CRUDE FUTURES Brent August crude fell $1.24, or 1.21 percent, tosettle at $100.91 a barrel. U.S. August crude fell $1.45, or 1.52 percent, tosettle at $93.69 a barrel. On Thursday, expiring U.S. July crudefell $2.84 to settle and go off the board at $95.40 a barrel. (Reporting by Robert Gibbons; Editing by Diane Craft)
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