Discount on Western Canada Select Widens

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The discount on Western Canada Select to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures widened on Friday.

WCS for November delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $10.90 a barrel under the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared to Wednesday’s close of $10.35.

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* October’s tight discount is being driven by supply impacts from seasonal maintenance in the Canadian oil sands, strong Asian buying and strong demand from U.S. refineries, analysts say.

* The tightness of the discount has surprised some market watchers, as the WCS differential typically widens following the end of the summer driving season.

* Tight WCS discounts help to support cash flows for Canadian oil sands producers, even in the face of a global oil supply glut amid aggressive OPEC+ supply additions and slowing economic activity.

* Oil prices managed small gains on Friday but were headed for a weekly loss of nearly 3% after the IEA forecast a growing glut, and U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to meet again to discuss Ukraine.

(Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary; Editing by Alan Barona)