Canadian heavy crude’s discount narrowed versus West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on Monday on signs of improved demand from refiners, traders said.
Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for August delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $7.05 per barrel below WTI after trading at about $7.55 below WTI earlier in the session, according to NE2 Canada Inc.
WCS settled at a discount of $7.95 on Friday.
The market is also correcting after a steep slide last week, trade sources said.
Canadian refining runs rebounded by 100,000 barrels per day for the week ended June 30, over the previous week, moving the utilization rate to 71%, Tudor Pickering Holt & Co said last week.
Light synthetic crude from the oil sands for August delivery traded at $1.70 under WTI, after Friday’s settle of $2.15 under.
Oil prices slipped about 1% on Monday after global coronavirus cases rose by a record daily amount, fanning fears of renewed government lockdowns, and on growing U.S. and European tension with China.