Heavy Oil Discount Narrows

• WCS for July delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $12.85 a barrel below WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, having settled at $12.95 a barrel under the benchmark on Friday.

• Canadian heavy barrels have traded in a fairly tight range so far this month, supported by the start-up of the 590,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Trans Mountain pipeline expansion last month.

• The forward curve indicates the discount on WCS should remain tighter than its historical average, with the 2025 forward strip at $14.44 a barrel under WTI, National Bank analysts said in a note to clients.

• Global oil prices climbed about 3% to a one-week high, buoyed by hopes of rising fuel demand this summer despite a stronger U.S. dollar and expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will leave interest rates higher for longer.

(Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia; Editing by Alan Barona)