Headlines

The discount on Western Canada Select crude oil to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures widened on Tuesday. WCS for May delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $16.50 a barrel below the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared to $16.25 on Monday. * The WCS differential has been volatile since the start of the U.S. war on Iran, with competing variables pulling and pushing on relative prices for Canadian heavy crude. * Analysts have said planned [Read more]

U.S. electric utilities expect to spend $1.4 trillion on power lines and other infrastructure-related costs over the next five years, raising concerns about rising power bills ahead for American homes and businesses, according to research released on Tuesday. * Utilities' five-year capital expenditure plans rose 20% from last year's reported plans, said PowerLines, a nonprofit that advocates for utility reform, which authored the report. * Regulated electric utilities can recover capital [Read more]

The Trump administration will allow a 30-day waiver of sanctions on Iranian oil at sea to expire later this week, two administration officials told Reuters on Tuesday, as the U.S. imposes a blockade on shipments from Iranian ports. The move signals that "Treasury is going full force on Economic Fury," on Iran, an apparent reference to Operation Epic Fury, the U.S.-led military campaign against the country, one of the officials said. The Trump administration has long said it is applying [Read more]

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said China had been an unreliable global partner during the Middle East war by hoarding oil supplies and limiting exports of some goods, mirroring its actions with medical goods during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bessent told reporters he had spoken with Chinese officials about the issue. He dodged a question about whether the dispute would derail U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to visit Beijing in mid-May, but said Trump and Chinese President Xi [Read more]

U.S. Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres on Tuesday wrote to U.S. market regulators pushing for an investigation into large oil trades placed just hours before the announcement of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire that Reuters first reported last week. Torres, who wrote to regulators last week to push for a probe into lucrative recent trading activity on oil markets back in March, on Tuesday urged Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins and Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman [Read more]

TORONTO - The head of Scotiabank says conflict in the Middle East could help boost demand for Canada's energy exports. Speaking at the bank's annual meeting, chief executive Scott Thomson says the conflict has served as a reminder how resources can be used as geopolitical tools and the importance of secure supplies. He says Canada is uniquely positioned as a reliable alternative source, putting a premium on the country's resources. Thomson also says that free trade in North America is [Read more]

The U.S. blockade of Iranian ports involves more than 10,000 military personnel, more than a dozen warships and dozens of aircraft, U.S. Central Command said on Tuesday. "During the first 24 hours, no ships made it past the U.S. blockade and 6 merchant vessels complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman," the command said in a statement a day after the blockade announced by U.S. President Donald Trump took effect. "The blockade is [Read more]

Today's high oil prices do not reflect the gravity of the threat to global energy markets from the Iran war and could rise much higher if the Strait of Hormuz does not re-open, Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, said on Tuesday. "The prices are, in my view, they do not reflect the current situation we are in," Birol told the Semafor World Economy conference in Washington. He said if the Strait of Hormuz is not opened to the free flow of oil and gas the world could see [Read more]