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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery added 53 cents to $94.42 on the New York Merc, while Brent for October added 41 cents to $100.54 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $19.66 to WTI, up from a discount of $21.00. Natural gas for September lost 57 cents to $7.71. The TSX energy index lost 4.75 points to close at 233.52.

Oil prices had a wobbly day, surging in the morning only to give back some ground by closing time. Traders are awaiting the outcome of tomorrow's OPEC+ meeting, where the group is generally expected to make no change to its production policy, despite increasing tightness in global oil markets. Meanwhile, bearish manufacturing data from the United States, Europe and Asia weighed on oil prices, as did the arrival of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Taiwan, raising concerns about tensions between the U.S. and China.

Here in Canada, the oil patch plowed ahead with quarterly reporting season. The Lundin Group's International Petroleum Corp. (IPCO) (which has some international operations, but gets most of its production from Western Canada) added 17 cents to $15.82 on 256,800 shares. It turned a profit of $105-million (U.S.). Production averaged 49,400 barrels a day, exceeding the full-year guidance of 46,000 to 48,000 barrels a day, and free cash flow was a record $151-million (U.S.). "The second quarter results set a new high watermark," cheered chief executive officer Mike Nicholson. He called them "astonishing" in their sheer "excellence."

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