XPost: can.internet.highspeed, can.general   
   From: Some@Guy.com   
      
   Marc Bissonnette unnecessarily full-quoted:   
      
   > CNN and CTV were reporting yesterday that Irans' decision to send   
   > two warships through the Suez canal (Updated today: Warships have   
   > now withdrawn their application for passage) sent oil prices   
   > skittering. There was specific mention of Brent, too.   
      
   Normally Brent and WTI trade within a dollar of each other.   
      
   But because of a huge over-supply of crude at the Cushing OK depot   
   (delivery point for the WTI contract) that is depressing the price of   
   crude oil in north america.   
      
   The riots in egypt (which started 2+ weeks ago) has caused the Brent   
   price to separate and go higher than WTI price.  This separation has   
   really never happened before, not even during other periods of global or   
   regional social unrest / caos.   
      
   Even though most traders agree that the Brent increase (to $103   
   currently) is bogus and built on speculation and fear, I can sort of   
   understand why it's been decoupled from the WTI price (currently $85)   
   because these are two very separated oil markets (and the current glut   
   of oil in Cushing).   
      
   The canadian dollar trades very tightly with the price of crude oil, but   
   because WTI and Brent have historically been very similar in price there   
   was really no way to know which type of contract would or does have   
   influence over the CAD.   
      
   I wouldn't have thought that the CAD would be supported more by the   
   Brent price (which it seems that it is) because canadian oil is more or   
   less captive - it's only external destination is really the USA and   
   hence is priced at the WTI contract.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)