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.

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.
Source: Reuters