The discount on Western Canada Select crude oil to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures narrowed on Friday.
WCS for August delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $15.15 a barrel below the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared to $15.25 a barrel on Thursday.
* The discount is now trading at levels similar to May, having unwound most of the tightening that took place in June.
* Market players are pricing for more crude in the U.S. market as a result of U.S. exports pulling back on increases of crude out of the Persian Gulf, said RBN Energy analyst Martin King. “With the additional releases from the SPR still on the way and what appears to be slowly rising volumes out of Venezuela, Canadian crudes are coming under negative pressures,” King said.
* Global oil prices were little changed for the week as traders held on to hopes for a successful outcome from attempts to secure peace between the U.S. and Iran.
(Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary; Editing by Bill Berkrot)