Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for September delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $11.80 per barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc. It settled on Friday at $11.90 under.
The market is range-bound, with any narrowing reflecting attractive heavy crude refining margins in the U.S. Midwest, and widening due to big Canadian oil producers restoring shut-in production, a trader said.
Alberta’s in-situ bitumen production rose 6% in June from the previous month as shut-in volumes started ramping back up, RBC Dominion Securities said in a research note.
Light synthetic crude from the oil sands for September delivery traded at $2.50 a barrel under WTI, narrower than Friday’s settle of $2.60 under.
Global oil prices rose, supported by an improvement in Chinese factory data, rising energy demand and hopes for an agreement in the United States on more coronavirus-related economic stimulus.