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The discount on Western Canada Select to the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures widened on Friday.
WCS for August delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $10.20 a barrel under the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared with $10 a barrel on Thursday.
* The differential between Canadian heavy crude and the U.S. benchmark has been wider in July than it was last month, when concerns about wildfires in Canada’s oil-producing regions led to a temporary tightening.
* Still, pricing for Canadian crude remains historically strong, in part due to the opening of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which boosted the country’s oil export capacity to Asian markets.
* Summer and the return of road construction season are a seasonally strong time of year for Canadian heavy crude, which is used by U.S. refiners to produce asphalt.
* Global oil prices rose over 2% on Friday as the International Energy Agency said the market was tighter than it appears, while U.S. tariffs and possible further sanctions on Russia were also in focus.
(Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
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