The Financial Post reports in its Thursday, July 27, edition that analysts say a dramatic narrowing in the price discount for Western Canadian heavy crude in the second quarter of 2023 should mean healthy profits for oil sands producers poised to start reporting their earnings later this week. A Canadian Press dispatch to the Post reports that Eight Capital analyst Phil Skolnick says, "It's been a nice tailwind for them." He says senior oil sands producers like Canadian Natural Resources, Suncor Energy and Imperial Oil are best positioned to benefit from higher bitumen prices. Mr. Skolnick says, "They've had a weaker Canadian dollar too that has benefited them, so we're expecting good free cash flows." Globally, oil prices remained under pressure in the second quarter, with the benchmark West Texas Intermediate down 3 per cent from the first quarter of the year and benchmark Brent crude down 5 per cent. However, the difference between the price of Western Canada Select (WCS) and New York-traded West Texas Intermediate (WTI) narrowed dramatically in the quarter to an average of $15.07 (U.S.), versus $24.77 (U.S.) in the first quarter, RBC Capital Markets reported.