Discount on Western Canada Select Narrows to $10 a Barrel

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The discount on Western Canada Select to the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures narrowed on Thursday to its tightest discount this month.

WCS for August delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $10 a barrel under the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared with $10.15 a barrel on Wednesday.

* Thursday’s WCS settlement was the tightest discount so far this July, but the differential between Canadian heavy crude and the U.S. benchmark remains wider than it was last month, when concerns about wildfires in Canada’s oil-producing regions led to a temporary tightening.

* Still, pricing for Canadian crude remains historically strong, in part due to the opening of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which boosted the country’s oil export capacity to Asian markets.

* Summer and the return of road construction season are a seasonally strong time of year for Canadian heavy crude, which is used by U.S. refiners to produce asphalt.

* Many analysts expect WCS to continue to trade within a tight band for the remainder of the summer.

* Global oil prices fell more than 2% on Thursday, as investors weighed the potential impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on global economic growth.

(Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)