The discount on Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy crude versus the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) widened slightly on Wednesday:
• WCS for June delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $11.70 a barrel below WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, after closing at $11.50 a barrel below the benchmark on Tuesday.
• Despite the slight widening, Canadian heavy crude remains near its strongest levels since last July thanks to new pipeline capacity becoming available.
• WCS has traded at a discount of less than $12 a barrel to WTI since the start of this month’s trade cycle, when the 590,000 barrel per day (bpd) Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX) started commercial operations.
• Global oil prices edged higher after data showed U.S. crude stockpiles fell last week as refiners slowly ramped up output ahead of the summer driving season, while a stronger dollar capped gains.
(Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)