Crude oil prices spiked upwards yesterday. It was the fourth consecutive day they recorded gains, something of an achievement in these volatile energy markets. In New York, prices per barrel rose by close to 5% to almost $50, a level not been reached since last August. This optimism seems to stem from a report published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (US EIA), which apparently states that shale oil production in the United States could drop by more than 120,000 barrels per day, low prices having discouraged investments in the sector.
Bolstered by this sharp rise in crude oil prices, the loonie also ended the day higher compared to the greenback. Markets seem to have discounted trade balance figures, which came in clearly lower than anticipated. This means that, even with our lower loonie, Canadian exports fell, whereas imports rose.
In other news, the IMF lowered its forecasts for world economic growth, pointing to the impacts from the slowdown in the Chinese economy on several emerging markets.
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