Heavy discount narrows slightly, trades in tight range

Canadian heavy crude’s discount narrowed slightly versus West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on Tuesday, but remained stuck in a tight trading range.

Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for September delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $11.70 per barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc. It settled the previous day at $11.80 under.

Restored production that had been shut in has allowed the heavy differential to widen modestly this month, but rising U.S. refinery demand is holding bigger moves in check, traders said.

Light synthetic crude from the oil sands for September delivery traded at $2.60 a barrel under WTI, wider than Monday’s settle of $2.55 under.

Global oil prices rose and were underpinned by expectations of U.S. economic stimulus to support the world’s biggest oil consumer as well as a rebound in Asian demand as economies pick up.