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 February delivery added 98 cents to $70.60 on the New York Merc, while Brent for February added 91 cents to $74.17 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $13.50 to WTI, down from a discount of $13.30. Natural gas for January lost 20 cents to $3.51. The TSX energy index added a fraction to close at 261.30.

Oil prices ended their last full week of 2024 with a weekly gain. In its latest weekly data release -- which came two days later than normal this week because of the Christmas and Boxing Day holidays -- the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that domestic crude inventories fell by 4.2 million barrels last week. This was significantly larger than the 1.9-million-barrel decrease predicted by analysts. Meanwhile, in a bullish sign for global oil demand, the World Bank raised its forecast yesterday for China's economic growth in 2024 and 2025.

Here in Canada, it was slim pickings for news, but not for weighty winter gas output. A new report from energy analytics firm and consultancy RBN Energy found that Western Canadian gas production set an all-time single-day record of 19.38 billion cubic feet on Dec. 25. "Santa Arrives Just On Time!" cheered analyst Martin King. He forecast that average production for December will land at 19.1 billion cubic feet a day, its first time ever above 19 billion. (For context, according to data from the Canada Energy Regulator -- which is more official but has about a two-month delay compared with the pipeline receipt data used by RBN -- Canada's gas production took a similar seasonal jump last year, averaging 18.8 billion cubic feet a day in December. The full-year average was 17.9 billion.)

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