Heavy and synthetic differentials steady

Canada’s heavy and synthetic crude differentials were little changed on Monday:

* Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for August delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $12.05 per barrel below West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil, according to Net Energy Exchange. On Friday, WCS for August delivery settled at $12.10 a barrel below WTI crude futures.

* Differentials were steady, with many industry players attending events at the Calgary Stampede, a 10-day rodeo in Canada’s corporate oil capital that kicked off on Friday.

* Crude prices were supported by data showing western Canadian crude inventories declined slightly in June to 30.5 million barrels.

* The government of Alberta, Canada’s main crude-producing province, has capped oil production for August at 3.74 million barrels per day, compared with 3.71 million bpd in July.

* Light synthetic crude from the oil sands for August delivery settled at $1 per barrel over U.S. crude, up slightly from Friday’s settle of 85 cents per barrel over WTI.

* U.S. oil futures rose 15 cents to settle at $57.66 a barrel, holding steady as tensions over Iran’s nuclear program countered concerns about whether slowing global economic growth would hit oil demand.

(Reporting by Nia Williams; Editing by Sandra Maler )