Heavy differential widens as trade cycle wraps up

The Canadian heavy crude discount widened against benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures on Thursday, the last day of the monthly trade cycle:

* Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for September delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, last traded at $12.15 per barrel below WTI, according to Net Energy Exchange. On Wednesday WCS settled at $11.20 per barrel below WTI.

* Thursday is the last day of the monthly Canadian crude trading window, in which the bulk of market activity takes place. The window runs from the first of each month until the day before nominations on the Enbridge Mainline pipeline network are due.

* Alberta crude production is curtailed after the provincial government imposed limits in January to ease pipeline congestion and drain storage inventories. Curtailments have been gradually reduced throughout the year.

* U.S. West Texas Intermediate benchmark crude fell 76 cents, or 1.4%, to settle at $54.47, extending the previous day’s losses on mounting recession concerns and China’s threat to impose counter-measures in retaliation for the latest U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.