Western Canada Select discount narrows as new trade cycle starts

WCS heavy blend crude for January delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $29.15 barrel under WTI, according to traders, narrowing around 35 cents from the previous session.

Market players said WCS traded in a narrow range all day. One trader said heavy Canadian crude differentials in Hardisty are being weighed down by weak WCS pricing on the U.S. Gulf Coast, where demand for heavy crude is subdued.

WCS differentials have been under pressure since late September when a number of factors including a drop in U.S. refinery demand, competition from cheap Russian barrels on the global market and rising Canadian production combined to push the discount sharply wider.

Global oil prices were mixed, retreating from an early rally built on dollar weakness and hopes for improved fuel demand in China after COVID-19 curbs were eased in two major Chinese cities. (Reporting by Nia Williams;)