Western Canada Select discount steady as oil benchmarks slide

Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy crude’s discount to the benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) held steady on Tuesday, although the outright price of WCS slipped as global oil prices fell.

WCS for June delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded between $14.90 and $14.80 a barrel under WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, barely changed from the previous day when it traded between $14.90 and $14.75 a barrel under the benchmark.

Global oil prices sank about 5% to a five-week low on economic concerns, however, as U.S. politicians discuss ways to avoid a debt default and investors prepare for more rate hikes this week.

That put the outright price of WCS at less than $57 a barrel, having settled just under $61 a barrel on Monday.