The discount on Western Canada Select to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures narrowed on Tuesday.
WCS for November delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $10.30 a barrel under the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared to Friday’s close of $10.65. Markets were closed Monday for the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday.
* The WCS discount has been tight this month, contrary to the typical seasonal widening after the summer driving season ends.
* October’s tight discount is being driven by supply impacts from seasonal maintenance in the Canadian oil sands, as well as strong Asian buying of Canadian crude oil off the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, said Wood Mackenzie analyst Dylan White.
* While this autumn’s narrow discount has surprised some analysts, White said he expects it to widen towards the end of this year.
* “Peak seasonal supply comes in winter months and we should be moving into that, getting into November,” he said.
* Oil prices fell on Tuesday, settling 1.5% lower as the International Energy Agency warned of a huge supply glut in 2026, and as trade tensions persisted between the U.S. and China, the world’s two biggest economies.
(Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary; Editing by Richard Chang)