WCS Discount Widens Amid Global Crude Price Swings and US-Iran Tensions

The discount on Western Canada Select (WCS) crude oil to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures widened on Wednesday.

According to brokerage CalRock, WCS for July delivery in Hardisty, Alberta settled at $11.90 a barrel below the U.S. benchmark WTI, up from $11.80 a barrel on Tuesday.

This comes as oil prices closed up nearly $2 on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said the U.S. is going to attack Iran 'very hard' if no peace deal is finalized.

The WCS differential has been volatile with global crude price swings since the start of the U.S.-Iran conflict, and has compressed as WTI has come down from recent months’ highs, according to Al Salazar, head of research at Enverus.