The discount on Canadian heavy crude versus the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark edged tighter on Thursday:
* Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for August delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $21.60 a barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Group, narrowing 5 cents from the previous day.
* Light synthetic crude from the oil sands for August delivery settled at $14.50 a barrel over WTI, unchanged from Wednesday.
* One industry source said trading volumes were thin as a result of the Calgary Stampede, a 10-day celebration of rodeo and corporate parties in Canada’s oil capital, and as the Canadian crude market neared the end of its monthly trading window.