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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery added 51 cents to $71.71 on the New York Merc, while Brent for June added 46 cents to $74.95 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $12.90 to WTI, down from a discount of $12.10. Natural gas for May added 10 cents to $4.05. The TSX energy index added 1.87 points to close at 278.61.

Oil markets held their ground, waiting for the sword to fall as U.S. President Donald Trump prepared to unveil sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs in the afternoon. Meanwhile, in its latest weekly data release, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that U.S. crude inventories rose by 6.2 million barrels last week. Analysts were expecting a decrease of 2.1 million barrels. The jump was in part caused by rising imports, likely in anticipation of fresh tariffs.

Here in Canada, oil sands producer Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE) edged up eight cents to $20.11 on 6.36 million shares. Management has been out wooing institutional investors, looking to reassure them that the problems that have plagued it over the past year -- particularly in its downstream refining division -- are on the path to recovery. "The company is highly committed to undertaking all the steps necessary" to improve utilization, costs and margins, wrote RBC analyst Greg Pardy in research note this morning, in an obligingly boosterish recap of what he called a "candid and insightful" institutional investor session. The session reinforced his faith in Cenovus's "favourable longer-term outlook."

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