CANADA-CRUDE-Discount on Western Canada Select narrows

July 8 (Reuters) - The discount on Western Canada Select to the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures CLc1 narrowed on Tuesday.

WCS for August delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, was trading at $10.25 a barrel under the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared to $10.30 a barrel on Monday.

• The WCS discount has widened slightly since last month, when concerns about wildfires in Canada's oil-producing regions led to a temporary tightening. Alberta's crude oil output dropped to a two-year low in May, said RBN Energy analyst Martin King in a report, due to wildfire curtailments at several oil sands sites as well as more routine maintenance work.

• Canadian heavy crude output should be much higher this month, King said, with wildfire-disrupted output restored in early June and facility turnarounds winding down.

• Pricing for Canadian crude remains historically strong, in part due to the opening of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which boosted the country's oil export capacity to Asian markets.

• Summer and the return of road construction season are a seasonally strong time of year for Canadian heavy crude, which is used by U.S. refiners to produce asphalt.