US Cash Crude-Grades slip as investors digest Gaza ceasefire

Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.S. cash crude grades slipped on Wednesday as investors digested news of a ceasefire in Gaza, but a larger-than-expected weekly fall in crude stocks curbed some losses.

Negotiators reached a phased deal on Wednesday to end the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, the U.S. and Qatar said, after 15 months of bloodshed that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and inflamed the Middle East.

The war had boosted oil prices as investors weighed the potential threat of the conflict spilling over into key-producer Iran, as well as potential bottlenecks as Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked tankers in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians.

Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil stocks excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell last week to their lowest since April 2022 as exports rose and imports fell, the Energy Information Administration said.

Crude inventories fell by 2 million barrels to 412.7 million barrels in the week ending Jan. 10, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 992,000-barrel draw.

* Light Louisiana Sweet WTC-LLS for February delivery fell 5 cents to a midpoint of a $2.13 premium and was seen bid and offered between a $2.00 and $2.25 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1

* Mars Sour WTC-MRS fell 45 cents to a midpoint of a 30-cent premium and was seen bid and offered between a 20-cent and 40-cent a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1

* WTI Midland WTC-WTM fell 5 cents to a midpoint of a 65-cent premium and was seen bid and offered between a 55-cent and 75-cent a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1

* West Texas Sour WTC-WTS gained 5 cents to a midpoint of a 15-cent premium and was seen bid and offered between a 5-cent and 25-cent a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1

* WTI at East Houston WTC-MEH, also known as MEH, traded between a 60-cent and 80-cent a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1

* ICE Brent March futures LCOc1 rose $2.11 to settle at $82.03 a barrel

* WTI February crude CLc1 futures rose $2.54 to settle at $80.04 a barrel

* The Brent/WTI spread WTCLc1-LCOc1 narrowed 20 cents to last trade at minus $3.35, after hitting a high of minus $3.25 and a low of minus $3.50

(Reporting by Georgina McCartney in Houston; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

((Georgina.McCartney@thomsonreuters.com;))