The discount on Western Canada Select crude oil to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures widened on Tuesday.
WCS for September delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $14.80 a barrel below the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared to $14.25 on Friday. Monday was a holiday in Canada.
* The discount remains significantly wider than it was in June, after traffic through the Strait of Hormuz picked up in July and also due to the ongoing weakness in China’s import appetite, which is hurting demand for heavy crude globally, analysts said.
* At the same time, crude supply has increased following the completion of second-quarter maintenance work and turnarounds at oil sands areas, according to analysts.
* Oil prices fell more than 5% and settled at a three-week low on Tuesday after comments by Qatari and U.S. officials raised hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the Iran war, which could improve oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
(Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary; Editing by Sonali Paul)