The discount on Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy crude versus the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) widened on Tuesday:
• WCS for July delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $13.25 a barrel below WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, having settled at $12.85 a barrel under the benchmark on Monday.
• There was some speculation in the market that the widening could be due to the 890,000 barrel-per-day Trans Mountain pipeline expansion not shipping as much crude as anticipated, one Calgary-based broker said.
• The expanded Trans Mountain pipeline started commercial operations at the start of last month.
• Global oil prices settled slightly higher as the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) raised its global oil demand growth forecast for the year, while OPEC stuck to its forecast for relatively strong growth in 2024.
(Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia; Editing by Alan Barona)