Discount on Western Canada Select Narrows

The discount on Western Canada Select crude oil to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures narrowed slightly on Wednesday.

WCS for June delivery in Hardisty, Alberta settled at $15.85 a barrel below the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared to $15.90 on Tuesday.

* While the discount has narrowed since the start of the month, the differential for heavy Canadian crude remains wider than it was at the beginning of the U.S. war on Iran.

* The WCS differential has been volatile since the start of the conflict and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has sharply reduced crude exports from the region and left energy importers scrambling for alternative supplies.

* Oil prices settled lower on Wednesday as investors worried about possible U.S. interest rate hikes and awaited updates on a high-stakes summit in Beijing between U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping.

(Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary; Editing by)