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CANADA-CRUDE-Heavy oil discount rate narrows

The discount on Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy unrefined versus the North American criteria West Texas Intermediate (WTI) narrowed on Monday:

* WCS for July shipment in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $ 12.85 a barrel below WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, having settled at $12.95 a barrel under the benchmark on Friday.

* Canadian heavy barrels have actually sold a relatively tight variety so far this month, supported by the start-up of the 590,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Trans Mountain pipeline expansion last month.

* The forward curve indicates the discount on WCS should stay tighter than its historic average, with the 2025 forward strip at $14.44 a barrel under WTI, National Bank analysts said in a note to clients.

* Worldwide oil prices climbed about 3% to a one-week high, buoyed by hopes of increasing fuel demand this summer season regardless of a. stronger U.S. dollar and expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve. will leave interest rates greater for longer.

(source: Reuters)