Discount on Western Canada Select Heavy Crude Unchanged

WCS for June delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $9.10 a barrel under the U.S. benchmark WTI, brokers said, flat on Friday’s close.

* Canadian heavy crude has been trading at a tight discount in recent months in part due to the opening of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion one year ago, which boosted the country’s oil export capacity.

* Canadian crude has also benefited from U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and other countries, which is boosting demand for non-sanctioned heavy crude producers.

* Canadian heavy crude producers also tend to see tighter differentials when global oil prices are lower, in part because it means less competition for pipeline space.

* Globally, oil prices rose about 1.5% to settle at a two-week high on Monday, after the U.S. and China agreed to temporarily slash tariffs, raising hopes of an end to the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.

(Reporting by Georgina McCartney; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)