Heavy oil discount steady

The discount on Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy crude versus the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded flat on Friday:

WCS for August delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $13.65 a barrel below WTI on Friday, according to brokerage CalRock, holding steady.

Refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast, which process Canadian crude, had limited damage and largely returned to normal operations on Wednesday following Hurricane Beryl.

Offshore platforms in the area, which produce some medium crudes that are also used by refineries in Gulf Coast, saw limited damage as well.

U.S. Gulf Coast refiners’ net input of crude rose last week to more than 9.4 million bpd for the first time since January 2019, government data showed.

However, signs of weaker demand from China, the world’s biggest oil importer, could counter the outlook from the United States and weigh on prices.

Global oil prices settled slightly lower on Friday, the second consecutive session, as investors weighed weaker U.S. consumer sentiment against mounting hopes for a Federal Reserve rate cut in September.O/R
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)