Discount on Western Canada Select Heavy Crude Widens

* WCS for January delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $12.60 a barrel under the WTI benchmark, according to brokerage CalRock, having settled at a discount of $12.20 a barrel under the U.S. benchmark on Wednesday.

* Canadian heavy crude prices are trading at a relatively strong level thanks sufficient export pipeline capacity since the Trans Mountain expansion project started operating earlier this year.

* Analysts at RBC Capital Markets said they expected the excess capacity on pipelines to support narrower WTI-WCS spreads into 2025.

* Global oil prices fell as investors weighed an ample supply outlook for next year against OPEC+ delaying its planned output increase by three months to April 2025.

* The outright price of WCS dropped below $56 a barrel.

(Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia; Editing by Sumana Nandy)