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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery added $2.26 to $96.02, while Brent for August added $1.81 to $97.81 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $19.30 to WTI, down from a discount of $17.00. Natural gas for July added four cents to $3.21. The TSX energy index added 5.08 points to close at 431.75.

Oil prices rose on a flare-up in U.S.-Israel-Iran hostilities in the Middle East. Meanwhile, in its latest weekly data release, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that U.S. crude stocks took another steep drop last week, decreasing by eight million barrels to a total of 433.7 million barrels (excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which also saw an eight-million-barrel drawdown). Analysts were expecting a smaller decrease of four million barrels.

At the key Cushing storage hub in Oklahoma, the pricing point for WTI futures, crude stocks fell by 583,000 barrels to hit 22.4 million. Traders are keeping a close eye on Cushing as it approaches what is widely considered its operational minimum of 20 million barrels. Historically, as Cushing levels drop, relative prices at the hub increase in order to attract barrels from the Permian and limit outflows to the Gulf Coast. (The last time Cushing approached critical lows was in late 2023, when levels dwindled to about 23 million barrels in mid-September. Markets tightened, front-month WTI spreads widened, and by mid-December, levels returned to breathe-easier territory above 30 million.)

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