Canadian heavy crude’s differential to benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude widened for a second day on Wednesday.
Western Canada Select heavy blend crude for February delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, last traded at $13.15 per barrel below the WTI benchmark, according to NE2 Canada Inc, having settled at $12.65 per barrel below the U.S. crude benchmark on Tuesday.
Heavy crude differentials narrowed sharply last week as a result of strong western Canadian inventory draws, but have eased wider in recent sessions. One industry source said refinery buying of Canadian heavy barrels was slowing due to a rally in WTI prices that had made WCS more expensive.
The outright price of Canadian crude was around $69 a barrel.
Global oil prices hit two-month highs on tight supply as crude inventories in the United States fell to their lowest since 2018, and as the dollar weakened and worries eased about the Omicron coronavirus variant.