The discount on Western Canada Select to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures widened on Thursday.
WCS for November delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $10.35 a barrel under the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared to Wednesday’s close of $10.25.
* October’s tight discount is being driven by supply impacts from seasonal maintenance in the Canadian oil sands, strong Asian buying, and strong demand from U.S. refineries, analysts say.
* Desjardins Capital Markets said Thursday it has trimmed its 2026 WTI–WCS differential forecast to $11 a barrel on average, from a previous forecast of $12 a barrel, given structural tightness in global heavy oil markets and excess pipeline capacity out of Western Canada.
* Tighter-than-forecast WCS discounts will support cash flows for Canadian oil sands producers, even in the face of a global oil supply glut in the face of aggressive OPEC+ supply additions and slowing economic activity, Desjardins said in a research note.
* Oil prices fell more than 1% on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to meet in Hungary soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, casting uncertainty over global energy supplies.
(Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)