CANADA-CRUDE-Discount on Western Canada Select heavy crude steady

March 18 (Reuters) - The discount of Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy crude to the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures (WTI) CLc1 was steady on Tuesday.

WCS for April delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $10.65 a barrel under WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, unchanged from Monday.

The differential between Canadian heavy crude and WTI is approximately $3 tighter than it was at the start of the month.

This reflects the combined effects of diminished U.S. tariff concerns and stronger-than-usual global heavy crude markets, said Rory Johnston, energy analyst and founder of the Commodity Context newsletter. He said the market appears to be erasing what has been a months-long tariff drag on the relative price of Canadian heavy oil.

Canada exports approximately 4 million barrels of oil per day, about 90 per cent of its total crude exports, to the United States.

The White House had previously said energy products from Canada would be subject to a 10% tariff rate but later announced a one-month reprieve that extends until April 2.

The Trump administration said Tuesday countries can avoid threatened tariffs by cutting their own trade barriers.

Global oil prices eased about 1% on Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed moves to end the three-year-old war in Ukraine, which could result in a possible easing of sanctions on Russian fuel exports.