The discount on Western Canada Select to the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures widened on Thursday.
WCS for September delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $11.95 a barrel under the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared with $11.85 a barrel on Wednesday.
* The differential between Canadian heavy crude and the U.S. benchmark has trended wider. This is due to the return of more normal market conditions, analysts say, after the discount became extremely tight this spring due to wildfires in Canada that temporarily disrupted oil sands output.
* Canadian heavy crude, which is used by U.S. refiners to make asphalt, typically sees strong seasonal demand heading into the start of the summer driving season and then dips as traders begin to look ahead to the fall.
* Globally, oil prices dropped on Thursday for a sixth consecutive session after the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin would meet U.S. President Donald Trump in the coming days, raising expectations for a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine.
(Reporting by Georgina McCartney in Houston; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)