Canada's WCS Discount Widens Amid Global Oil Price Drop
The discount on Western Canada Select crude oil to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures widened significantly on Friday.
According to brokerage CalRock, WCS for November delivery in Hardisty, Alberta settled at $24.65 a barrel below the US benchmark WTI, compared with $24.10 on Thursday.
The widening discount comes as global oil prices fell after the Group of Seven countries agreed to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil from emergency reserves and pledged not to impose energy export restrictions, following pressure from US President Donald Trump.
Canada is also planning to fast-track the approval process for a new proposed crude oil export pipeline to its west coast that could generate over C$20 billion ($14 billion) a year in GDP. Prime Minister Mark Carney announced this plan on Thursday as part of an effort to diversify the economy away from the US and mitigate the effects of Trump's tariffs.