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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery added 89 cents to $63.41 on the New York Merc, while Brent for August added $1.00 to $65.63 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $10.10 to WTI, up from a discount of $14.10. Natural gas for July added three cents to $3.72. The TSX energy index added 3.75 points to close at 261.58.

Oil prices headed higher, buoyed by media reports that Iran is about to reject a U.S. nuclear deal that would have been key to easing sanctions on Iranian oil exports. The weakening U.S. dollar also lent a hand to oil prices. (A lower greenback makes oil less expensive in other currencies, boosting demand.)

Traders are also eyeing the expanding list of Canadian oil producers whose production is being disrupted by wildfires. Yesterday, Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE: $18.64) and MEG Energy Corp. (MEG: $24.99) disclosed shut-ins at their respective Christina Lake oil sands projects, located about 10 kilometres away from each other. Around 17 kilometres away from those projects is the Jackfish project of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNQ: $43.14), which has confirmed that it too has evacuated workers and taken production off-line. All told, wildfires are affecting about 344,000 barrels a day or 7 per cent of Canada's total oil output. (This in turn is affecting regional gas prices, because oil sands producers are heavy consumers of gas for their operations. Benchmark Alberta AECO prices have tumbled to around 75 cents from $2 in the past week.)

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