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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery lost five cents to $78.95 on the New York Merc, while Brent for July went the other way and added 23 cents to $83.67 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $13.15 to WTI, down from a discount of $10.30. Natural gas for June added 11 cents to $2.04. The TSX energy index added 1.06 points to close at 290.07.

A flood of financials continued to inundate energy investors. Among the heavyweights, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNQ) lost 63 cents to $102.39 on 3.63 million shares, after coming in shy of analysts' predictions for its first quarter profit (though otherwise its numbers held few surprises). The company will hold a shareholder meeting today and seek approval for a 2-for-1 stock split. Meanwhile, Tourmaline Oil Corp. (TOU) -- which despite its Oil-y name is Canada's largest gas producer -- lost 50 cents to $65.29 on 3.65 million shares. Its first quarter financials came in slightly ahead of analysts' predictions. They also featured a quarterly dividend bump to 32 cents from 30 cents (for a yield of 1.9 per cent) and a special dividend of 50 cents. The stock nonetheless gave back some ground, having spent the last six weeks climbing from $59 to nearly $70.

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