This item is part of Stockwatch's value added news feed and is only available to Stockwatch subscribers.

Here is a sample of this item:

by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery added 27 cents to $90.77 on the New York Merc, while Brent for October added 13 cents to $96.72 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $20.10 to WTI, unchanged. Natural gas for September added 15 cents to $9.34. The TSX energy index lost 1.08 points to close at 235.29.

Oil prices notched their second weekly decline in a row. Here in Canada, the focus has turned toward natural gas prices, which have "significantly eroded throughout August," fretted the analysts at TD Securities in a research note this morning. The discount between the AECO Alberta gas benchmark and the Henry Hub U.S. gas benchmark has been hovering at around $1 (U.S.) for most of the year (reflecting the cost to ship Alberta gas to the U.S. Gulf Coast). This discount widened to around $3 (U.S.) in July and then blew out to a record $8 (U.S.) and beyond in August.

In Canadian dollars, AECO spot prices have tumbled from around $8 as of mid-June to barely $1 today. The situation is even worse for the Westcoast Station 2 gas benchmark in British Columbia, which closed today at negative 49 cents -- effectively paying buyers to take the gas away -- compared with over $5.50 at the start of August.

The remainder is available to Stockwatch subscribers.
Sign-up for a FREE 30-day Stockwatch subscription and SEE NO ADS