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Oil Prices Are Spiking — Here's What It Means for Your Gas Tank and Grocery Bill

  Published July 17, 2026 Crude oil is trading near one-month highs this week, and if you've filled up your tank recently, you've probably already felt it. The culprit: an escalating conflict in the Middle East that's disrupting one of the world's most important oil shipping routes — and it's starting to show up at Canadian pumps and, eventually, on grocery store shelves. What's happening with oil prices West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the North American benchmark, has been trading around the $79–$80 per barrel range this week — up roughly 5% over the past month. Brent crude, the global benchmark that matters more for what Canadians pay at the pump, has been hovering near $85 per barrel, also near a one-month high. The spike traces back to renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran. The U.S. reimposed a naval blockade on Iran and has intensified strikes, while Iran has responded with attacks on U.S. bases and threats to disrupt regional energy shipments further. ...
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Canadian Stocks Edge Higher, U.S. Markets Slip on Last Trading Day of 2023

 

Canadian stocks closed slightly higher on Friday, the last trading day of 2023, as gains in the industrials and utilities sectors offset losses in the energy and materials sectors. The S&P/TSX composite index rose 29.06 points, or 0.14%, to end at 20,958.44, capping off a year of strong performance amid the recovery from the pandemic.

Meanwhile, U.S. markets dipped as investors took profits and weighed the impact of the Omicron variant on the economic outlook. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 20.56 points, or 0.05%, to 37,689.54, while the S&P 500 index dropped 13.52 points, or 0.28%, to 4,769.83. The Nasdaq composite index, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, declined 83.78 points, or 0.56%, to 15,011.35.

The Canadian dollar traded lower against its U.S. counterpart, as the greenback strengthened on the back of higher Treasury yields. The loonie was down 0.08 cents at 75.61 cents US.

In commodities, oil prices edged lower as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies agreed to stick to their plan of gradually increasing output in January, despite concerns over the demand outlook. The February crude oil contract was down 12 cents at US$71.65 per barrel. Natural gas prices also slipped, with the February natural gas contract down four cents at US$2.51 per mmBTU.

Gold prices fell as the appetite for safe-haven assets waned, while copper prices also dropped amid a stronger U.S. dollar. The February gold contract was down US$11.70 at US$2,071.80 an ounce and the March copper contract was down three cents at US$3.89 a pound.

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