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Oil prices are rising after production slowed due to an OPEC agreement. However, U.S. shale production continues to rise. (Andrew Cullen/Reuters) After a sharp downturn in December, oil prices have recovered, with the benchmark North American contract nearing the key $50 US a barrel threshold. The West Texas Intermediate contract rose $1.68 on Monday morning to trade at $49.64 a barrel. The stronger international prices helped buoy the Canadian contract, with Western Canada Select up $1.93 to $37.93. A strong energy sector had the TSX/S&P index edging higher, up 13 points at midday to 14,439. It also helped the loonie, which was above 75 cents US again after plunging in December in tandem with oil. Cuts in production promised by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are kicking in, and tanker volumes out of Saudi Arabia were cut by 500,000 barrels per day in December. There is also lower output from the North Sea and from Alberta, which has i mplemented production caps because it doesn’t have sufficient pipeline capacity to get its crude to market. OPEC and non-OPEC countries such as Russia, have agreed to cut production by 1.2-million barrels a day in January. The exception is U.S. […]
