US plans to increase oil imports from Canada

According to the WSJ, the Biden administration is to consider increasing oil imports from Canada. This information led primarily to a marked strengthening of the Canadian dollar. At the moment, the USA imports about 1.5 million bpd of crude oil from Canada and is the largest importer of crude oil from this country.

This news is positive for Canada, but the real impact is limited. The vast majority of Canadian oil imports are carried out by rail and trucks. Biden canceled further development of the Keystone XL oil pipeline project, which could lead to lower import costs and, in fact, less environmental pollution. Nevertheless, at the moment there is no discussion about the resumption of this project. Therefore, the increase in exports will also be limited.

USDCAD is currently testing 1.2400 level, while oil price is rather muted. It is worth noting that only the start of oil imports by the Keystone XL could lead to a real increase in oil production in Canada, which could ease the current oil-related inflationary pressure in the medium and long term.