The discount of Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy crude to the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures (WTI) narrowed on Friday:
* WCS for March delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $13.50 a barrel under WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, having ended at a $13.95 discount on Thursday.
* Canadian heavy crude prices have so far held up well in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs plan, analysts said.
* Trump paused his plan to impose a 10% levy on Canadian oil for 30 days on Monday, in return for concessions on border and crime enforcement.
* The discount on Canadian crude has not widened to the point that it poses a problem for the Canadian oil industry, said RBN Energy analyst Martin King. “I think where it is right now, where it’s been the last few months, is extremely reasonable,” King said.
* Canada exports approximately 4 million barrels of oil per day to the United States.
* Global oil prices finished with daily gains on Friday after new sanctions were imposed on Iran’s crude exports, but prices were down for the week as investors worried about Trump’s renewed trade war on China and threats of tariffs on other countries.
(Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary; Editing by Chris Reese)