The discount of Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy crude to the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures (WTI) widened on Monday, as markets reacted to U.S. President Donald Trump’s statement that tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada will definitely take effect on Tuesday.
* WCS for April delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $13.60 a barrel under WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, having ended at a $12.90 discount on Friday.
* Monday was the start of the Canadian crude market’s trade cycle, which runs from the first of each month until the day before pipeline nominations are due, and in which the bulk of trading activity takes place.
* Trump’s promised tariffs are scheduled to take effect at 12:01 a.m. EST (0501 GMT) on Tuesday. At that point, Canada and Mexico face tariffs of 25%, with a 10% tariff rate for Canadian energy.
* Canada exports approximately 4 million barrels of oil per day to the United States.
* Global oil prices fell about 2% to a 12-week low on Monday on reports OPEC+ will proceed with a planned oil output increase in April and worries U.S. tariffs could hurt global economic growth and oil demand.
(Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary; Editing by Alan Barona)