This item is part of Stockwatch's value added news feed and is only available to Stockwatch subscribers.

Here is a sample of this item:

by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery added $1.56 to $67.31 on the New York Merc, while Brent for November added $1.42 to $70.61 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $15.40 to WTI, down from a discount of $10.70. Natural gas for October added four cents to $2.27. The TSX energy index added a fraction of a point to close at 255.76.

Oil prices fought their way higher as traders sought comfort in mixed headlines. In its latest weekly data release, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that domestic crude inventories rose by 800,000 barrels last week. This is the first increase in four weeks, but is smaller than the 987,000-barrel jump predicted by analysts. The EIA remains in the bulls' good books after predicting yesterday that Brent will rebound and average nearly $82 (U.S.) in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Hurricane Francine whipped up a bit of price support, with oil and gas producers in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico taking one-quarter of their output off-line to hunker down against the storm. (The region accounts for 15 per cent of U.S. oil production and 2 per cent of U.S. gas production.)

The remainder is available to Stockwatch subscribers.
Sign-up for a FREE 30-day Stockwatch subscription and SEE NO ADS