The premium on synthetic Canadian crude from the oil sands climbed on Wednesday, regaining some ground after losses so far this month:
* Light synthetic crude from the oil sands for September delivery last traded at $5.90 a barrel over the West Texas Intermediate benchmark, according to NE2 Group, rising from Tuesday’s settlement of $4.50 a barrel over WTI.
* Synthetic prices had been easing in recent weeks after hitting record highs earlier in the summer when maintenance in oil sands upgraders cut supply, and demand for crudes with a strong distillate yield boomed.
* Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for September delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, last traded at $19.80 a barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Group, unchanged from the previous settlement.
* Bart Melek, global head of commodity markets strategy at TD Securities, said Canadian heavy crude was still suffering a hangover from U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve’s release of predominantly sour barrels, which flooded the market.
* Global oil prices rose, rebounding from losses early in the session, helped by encouraging figures on U.S. gasoline demand and as lower-than-expected U.S. inflation data drove investors into riskier /R
