The discount on Western Canada Select to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures narrowed on Wednesday.
WCS for December delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $11.50 a barrel under the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared to Monday’s close of $11.70. Markets were closed Tuesday in Canada for Remembrance Day.
* The differential has been trading in a tight band, ranging between $10.25 and $11.70 under WTI, since September 1.
* Analysts point to strong international buying of Canadian crude off the Pacific coast via the Trans Mountain pipeline, especially by China. Buying of Canadian barrels for re-export out of the Gulf Coast has also been stronger than usual in reaction to additional sanctions on Russia.
* WCS discounts will likely average slightly wider through the winter months as strong seasonal supply drives high utilization along export pipelines and incremental OPEC+ barrels in competing demand markets weigh on relative heavy oil prices, said Wood Mackenzie analyst Dylan White.
* “Any major supply disruptions (especially from Russia/Venezuela) would introduce upside risk to relative WCS prices,” White said.
* Global oil prices fell more than $2 a barrel on Wednesday, weighed down by an OPEC report saying global oil supply will match demand in 2026, marking a further shift from its earlier projections of a supply deficit.
(Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary; Editing by Alan Barona)