The discount on Canadian heavy crude widened versus U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude on Wednesday, with traders pointing to large stockpiles and limited pipeline space. Alberta oil storage levels have hit record highs after a temporary Keystone pipeline outage last year and a rail strike. In October, Alberta, Canada's main oil-producing province, eased curtailments on oil production, allowing companies to produce additional oil, provided they move it by rail. Western [Read more]

U.S. natural gas futures rose on Tuesday from a near four-month low following the release of a midday weather report showing a few more colder-than-normal days in mid- to late-January than expected earlier in the day. In the latest afternoon forecast, meteorologists projected temperatures in the U.S. Lower 48 states will remain at warmer-than-normal to near-normal levels before turning cold on several days starting around Jan. 17. That is cooler than the morning outlook when the weather was [Read more]

Oil prices shot more than 1% higher on Monday, with Brent rising above $70 a barrel, after U.S. President Donald Trump issued a threat to impose sanctions on Iraq amid escalating tensions with Iran in the Middle East. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $63.47 a barrel, up 45 cents, or 0.73%, after touching $64.44 earlier, the highest since April. Brent crude futures soared to a high of $70.27 a barrel at 0222 GMT, up $1.67, or 2.4%, from Friday's settlement. The gains extended [Read more]

U.S. energy firms reduced the number of oil rigs operating for the second straight week as producers follow through on plans to slash spending on new drilling. Drillers cut 7 oil rigs in the week to Jan. 3, bringing the total count down to 670, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said in its closely followed report on Friday. In the same week a year ago, there were 877 active rigs. Even though the number of rigs drilling new wells has fallen in 2019, U.S. oil output has continued to [Read more]

U.S. natural gas futures slightly extended gains on Friday following the release of a federal government report showing a storage draw in line with expectations. Traders noted that the market had risen in thin trade earlier in the day as traders covered shorts despite forecasts of even milder weather. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said utilities pulled 58 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas from storage during the week ended Dec. 27. The report, normally released on [Read more]

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $1.76, or 2.9%, to $62.94 a barrel after a U.S. air strike killed key Iranian and Iraqi military personnel, raising concerns that escalating Middle East tensions may disrupt oil supplies. Brent crude futures jumped nearly $3 to hit a high of $69.16 a barrel, the highest since Sept. 17. The front-month Brent March contract was at $68.25 a barrel, up $2.00, or 3%, by 0258 GMT. "The supply side risks remain elevated in the Middle East [Read more]