Oil fluctuated in New York

West Texas Intermediate oil in New York fluctuated after operators said the Seaway pipeline won’t be able to carry projected volumes in the “foreseeable future.” The WTI discount to Brent narrowed on changes to North Sea crude pricing.

WTI traded in a 91-cent-a-barrel range. Enterprise Product Partners LP said Seaway isn’t able to move a planned capacity of 400,000 barrels a day. Surging U.S. output has led to the development of rail routes to make up for the Seaway delays. Platts, which publishes world oil price assessments, proposed changes to its North Sea pricing formula less than two weeks after Royal Dutch Shell Plc changed its own trading contract.

Oil in New York rose as much as 0.3 percent earlier on a report that showed rising investor confidence in Germany, the world’s fifth biggest crude importing country. The ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim said its index of investor and analyst expectations climbed to highest in almost three years.

WTI futures for March delivery, which expire tomorrow, traded in a range of $95.25 -  $96.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent oil for April settlement dropped 45 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $116.93 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.