The discount on Western Canada Select crude oil to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures widened on Tuesday.
WCS for December delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $25.75 a barrel below the US benchmark WTI, compared with $25 on Monday, according to brokerage CalRock.
* The discount on heavy Canadian crude has retreated from the blowout levels of earlier this month, in part because global freight rates — while still high — have come down since October, said Rory Johnston, founder of the Commodity Context newsletter.
* The WCS differential at Hardisty in the first week of November reached as wide as $31 below WTI. At Houston, WCS barrels in late October hit an all-time wide discount of $23 as soaring global freight rates reduced demand for Canadian crude re-exports off the US Gulf Coast.
* Oil prices eased to a two-month low on Tuesday, after US officials downplayed the need for additional military action against Iran, easing fears of additional Middle East supply disruptions.
(Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary; Editing by Leroy Leo)