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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery added 71 cents to $57.51 on the New York Merc, while Brent for September added 93 cents to $64.23 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $13.15 to WTI, unchanged. Natural gas for August shot up 15 cents to $2.42. The TSX energy index lost a fraction to close at 138.64.

Vermilion Energy Inc. (VET) edged up 10 cents to $28.37 on 844,200 shares. Its stock is not often below $30; back in 2014, it was as high as $78. A few weeks ago, it crossed a noteworthy threshold as its dividend yield surpassed 10 per cent. Investors have long had their questions about the safety of such a generous dividend. Vermilion has tried to tame these fears, pointing out on its website that since the dividend was introduced in 2003, it has been increased four times and never once reduced. The most recent increase was in April, 2018, when the monthly payout was hiked to 23 cents from 21.5 cents. The current yield (bearing in mind that the stock has edged up slightly over the last few weeks) is 9.7 per cent.

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