Canadian heavy crude is trading at the smallest discount to benchmark U.S. oil in almost four years after a rush of sales to beat tariffs drained the country’s inventories.
Western Canadian Select in Alberta traded at US$9.95 less per barrel than West Texas Intermediate, the smallest discount since early April 2021, according to a person familiar with prices and General Index data compiled by Bloomberg.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs on Canadian energy products — which were first scheduled for early February but have since been delayed twice to April 2 — encouraged companies to ship as much crude as possible to the US before the levies took effect. That surge drained Western Canadian stockpiles to a record low early this month, according to Wood Mackenzie. Stockpiles remained near those low levels as of last week, according to a person familiar with the data.
Supplies may remain tight as oil sands producers are preparing to shut machinery and curtail output to perform regular maintenance.
Robert Tuttle, Bloomberg News
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