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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery added 85 cents to $51.45 on the New York Merc, while Brent for December added 92 cents to $57.17 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $11.15 to WTI ($40.30), unchanged. Natural gas for November added one cent to $3. The TSX energy index added 1.14 points to close at 184.02.

Alberta gas producer Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. (PEY) lost 22 cents to $18.75 on 853,400 shares. Its suffering stock has now lost almost exactly $20 in the last 12 months, dropping steadily from its year-ago high of $38.71, with much of the recent slump reflecting persistent weakness in AECO gas prices (the benchmark in Alberta). President and chief executive officer Darren Gee took to BNN this morning to try to reverse the slide. He expressed optimism that the wild swings in daily AECO prices will soon be over. Just yesterday, said Mr. Gee, AECO was as high as $7 at some points in the day and as low as negative $4 at other points. The volatility reflects transportation bottlenecks (particularly on TransCanada's NOVA pipeline system, undergoing prolonged maintenance), as well as a seasonal lack of gas demand. The coming winter cold should bring an increase in gas demand and help smooth out the bumps in pricing, said Mr. Gee. He added that Peyto and many other gas producers have already taken steps to protect themselves through hedging contracts. Just 10 per cent of Peyto's production is exposed to daily AECO prices, he emphasized.

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