The modest widening this week is due to a few producers moving barrels to buyers as WTI prices rise and Canadian prices reflect only a modest discount, a trader said.
Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for June delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $4.75 per barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc, wider than Wednesday’s settle of $4.05 under.
Canadian crude exports to the United States last week hit their lowest level since December 2017, a reflection of some 800,000 barrels per day of announced Western Canadian shut-ins to date, TD analyst Menno Hulshof said in a note.
Global oil prices rose after the International Energy Agency forecast lower global stockpiles in the second half of 2020, even as worries remain over a second surge in coronavirus infections.