The discount on Western Canada Select (WCS) crude oil to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures widened on Friday.
WCS for November delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $25.55 a barrel below the US benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared with $25.20 on Thursday. The discount remains more than $10 wider than it was at this point in last month’s trading cycle and is wider than it has been since 2023.
* The cost to transport oil on tankers globally has hit record highs in recent weeks following attacks on ships since the US-Iran war began in late February.
* The WCS discount widening is being driven by both quality-related market weakness connected to an increasingly oversupplied US Gulf Coast fuel oil market, as well as the exploding cost of global marine shipping, said Rory Johnston, founder of the Commodity Context newsletter.
* Oil prices fell on Friday as Middle East supply concerns eased after President Donald Trump said the US would not attack Iran before midterm elections next month and talked of “productive” talks to end their war that has disrupted global energy markets.
(Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)