TC Energy has submitted plan to restart Keystone pipeline after spill in Kansas, source says

TC Energy Corp TRP-T -0.42%decrease has submitted its plan to restart the Keystone pipeline to U.S. regulators, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after the line ruptured in the worst oil spill in the United States in nine years.

The 622,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) pipeline was shut after it spilled 14,000 barrels of oil in rural Kansas on Dec. 7, the third major spill from the line in the last five years. The undamaged parts of the pipeline reopened last week.

Even though cleanup will take weeks or months, the line can still restart once it is repaired and the plan approved by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

TC Energy did not answer questions about when it hopes to restart the line or what caused the incident.

“This segment will not be restarted until it is safe to do so and when we have regulatory approval from PHMSA,” the company said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it could not immediately comment.

The line leaked diluted bitumen, a heavy oil that tends to sink in water, making it harder to collect than oils that float. More than 400 people are involved in the cleanup, including TC workers, pipeline regulators, state and local officials and the EPA.

TC is required to complete an analysis of the root cause of the line’s failure by early March, or 90 days after PHMSA issued a corrective action order.

The response team has so far recovered 7,233 barrels of oil from Mill Creek.

TC is not required to identify the cause to restart, but it needs to satisfy PHMSA that the problem is not systemic and likely to cause other incidents along the pipeline, said Richard Kuprewicz, president of pipeline consulting company Accufacts Inc.

Kuprewicz said he suspects that a weld failed between segments of pipeline and does not represent a systemic problem.

“It’s pretty straightforward and PHMSA should have enough information,” Kuprewicz said, adding that PHMSA could allow TC to restart the segment within the day.

TC shares dipped 0.7 per cent in Toronto. They are down 7 per cent since the spill.

The portion of the line that is shut covers 96 miles (155 km), starting south of a key junction located at Steele City, Nebraska. The line splits at that locale, with one leg heading to Midwest refineries. That leg reopened last week.

Completion of the cleanup depends on weather and other factors.

Used cars, lumber and other sectors defying inflation and seeing price drops

Lumber

Remember the frenzy around lumber prices in 2021? In May of that year, benchmark prices reached a peak of US$1,686 per thousand board feet, an enormous increase from its usual range around US$200 to US$500.

Today, prices have come back to earth around the US$400 mark after sustained declines since February.

Keta Kosman, owner of the Madison’s Lumber Reporter in Vancouver, said it may still take some time for the average consumer to notice decreases in pricing, since the complicated economy of lumber sales means that retail outfits receive product months down the road.

She said there will could be a lag time of around six months before retail prices meaningfully come down from their current high levels.

Retailers are also trying to figure out where prices will stabilize after such a volatile period. However, it’s safe to assume that buying wood at your hardware store and the cost of materials when booking a local contractor will begin to decrease in the new year.

Ms. Kosman also said that lumber prices also affect packaging-related items, such as pallets and crates, which could point to downward price pressure in other products as well.

It feels like there’s no escaping inflation, no matter where you are in the world or what you’re buying.

Rising interest rates are jacking up borrowing costs, while supply chain issues and high demand are bringing up the price of just about everything else. Earlier this year the headline inflation rate in Canada hit a multidecade high of 8.1 per cent, and the most recent reading, for October, sat at 6.9 per cent. Statistics Canada releases its latest Consumer Price Index numbers on Wednesday.

But even as the cost of living has risen at an alarming pace, there are some products that are seeing prices fall, and we cite a few of them below. Some goods, such as lumber, are on the cusp of having prices drop, while others, such as certain produce items, have seen price declines already that could be at risk of reversing.

Used cars

Everyone wanted a car when the pandemic started, and the timing couldn’t have been worse.

Baris Akyurek, director of analytics with AutoTrader.ca, said the production of new cars slowed because of microchip shortages, while demand rose sharply as people looked to avoid public transport and moved further out of urban centres.

Consumers turned to the used market, and prices exploded as a result. The average price of a used car on the AutoTrader platform peaked at just over $38,000 in June, 2022, an enormous increase from the average price of $26,759 in February, 2020.

However, prices have been steadily decreasing each month since June; in November, the average price of a used car was $36,682.

There was also good news on the supply side: As of October, the site had 27 per cent more cars available than a year prior, which will add to downward pressure on prices.

Mr. Akyurek expects car prices will continue to soften into the new year, but the caveat is that they likely won’t return to prepandemic prices any time soon, especially because car makers continue to struggle with supply chain issues, and demand remains strong.

Certain fresh produce items

Grocery stores have been a focus of people’s frustration over inflation, as the cost of food has cut into people’s paycheques.

But Sylvain Charlebois, a Dalhousie University professor specializing in food distribution and economics, said there have been a few key products that have actually decreased in price over the past year.

As of the end of November, broccoli was 13 per cent cheaper compared with a year prior. Peppers were down 12 per cent, while cucumbers were down by the same percentage.

Meanwhile for meats, Dr. Charlebois said pork prices had dropped by 9 per cent, owing to oversupply. Chicken drumsticks, generally a loss-leader, were down by 7 per cent, although chicken in general has become more expensive.

Dr. Charlebois cited favourable growing conditions as the reason why prices for certain types of produce products had dropped. However, he said this trend could reverse in the new year, and advised consumers to take advantage of relatively low prices now.

A breakdown of everything you need to know about inflation

Lumber

Remember the frenzy around lumber prices in 2021? In May of that year, benchmark prices reached a peak of US$1,686 per thousand board feet, an enormous increase from its usual range around US$200 to US$500.

Today, prices have come back to earth around the US$400 mark after sustained declines since February.

Keta Kosman, owner of the Madison’s Lumber Reporter in Vancouver, said it may still take some time for the average consumer to notice decreases in pricing, since the complicated economy of lumber sales means that retail outfits receive product months down the road.

She said there will could be a lag time of around six months before retail prices meaningfully come down from their current high levels.

Retailers are also trying to figure out where prices will stabilize after such a volatile period. However, it’s safe to assume that buying wood at your hardware store and the cost of materials when booking a local contractor will begin to decrease in the new year.

Ms. Kosman also said that lumber prices also affect packaging-related items, such as pallets and crates, which could point to downward price pressure in other products as well.

Why lumber price trends are so hard to nail down

Cellphone bills

In a report earlier this year, Priscilla Thiagamoorthy, senior economist at Bank of Montreal, noted that phone services were bucking the inflation trend, with three consecutive months of dropping prices over the summer.

“The CRTC ruled in favour of policy aimed at increasing competition and lowering mobile services prices, providing one bright spot amid an otherwise dreary inflationary picture,” Ms. Thiagamoorthy wrote in a note last month.

Phone service costs increased slightly in October from the previous month, but year over year, the costs were lower by 4.2 per cent, according to Statistics Canada.

Used bikes

Biking was one of those activities that everyone turned to after the onset of the pandemic. It was an obvious way for people to get outside and exercise when everything else in life was limited.

Bike shops were among the first businesses in those days to see their stocks completely clear out, especially when it came to entry and mid-level bikes. Then, people turned to the used market, and Tom Sands, a volunteer of Bike Pirates in Toronto, said the used market went haywire.

People were starting to flip new bikes on the used market for much more than they were originally worth. Used bikes that may have fetched a couple hundred dollars before the pandemic were going at double that rate.

Even shops like Bike Pirates, which Mr. Sands said aims to keep used bike prices low for those new to the activity, had to slightly raise their prices because of difficulties in attaining bikes and the parts to fix them.

While it’s hard to pin down data on used bike sales, Mr. Sands said it’s clear that prices have come down from their pandemic highs, although they’re still slightly more expensive than prepandemic.

However, he said consumers can look forward to a regular winter season this year, where bike shops are cutting deals to get rid of old stock, and where it might be easier to find reasonably priced used bikes since demand is lower.

Magnitude 6.4 earthquake hits northern California, leaves ‘widespread’ damage to homes, roads

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office warned in an alert of “widespread damages to roads and homes” reported throughout the county after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake shook the northern California coast early Tuesday morning. 

“Due to a large earthquake, widespread damages to roads and homes are reported throughout Humboldt County. Be prepared for aftershocks. Check gas and water lines for damages or leaks. Exercise caution if traveling,” it said in a tweet.

Preliminary information showed that the 2:34 a.m. PT tremor was centered about 7.5 miles southwest of Ferndale, roughly 300 miles away from San Francisco, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/magnitude-6-4-earthquake-hits-northern-california

Fusion power is still decades and billions of dollars away, even after this week’s major scientific breakthrough

• Tuesday’s announcement of net power gain from a nuclear fusion reaction is a major scientific breakthrough.
• At the same time, it will be more than a decade until fusion is generating power for the electricity grid.
• Between now and then, there will have to be numerous incremental technical breakthroughs and more money invested into the industry.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/14/fusion-power-wont-be-widespread-for-at-least-a-decade.html

Biden roasted for sending South Africa $8 billion to shut down coal plants: ‘Weapon grade lunacy

President Biden proclaimed Wednesday that the United States and other G-7 countries will donate billions to get South Africa off coal and on renewables, to the chagrin of many on Twitter.

“Today’s announcement joined a portfolio of Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment projects already underway in Africa,” Biden declared at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, “Including mobilizing $8 billion in public and private finance to help South Africa replace coal-fired power plants with renewable energy sources.”

Biden also said money would be spent helping “develop cutting edge energy solutions like clean hydrogen, a deal worth $2 billion to build solar energy projects in Angola, $600 million high-speed communications cables that will connect Southeast Asia to Europe via Egypt and the Horn of Africa and help bring high-speed internet connectivity to countries all along the way.”

https://www.foxnews.com/media/biden-roasted-sending-south-africa-8-billion-shut-coal-weapon-grade-lunacy

Bullish on CGI Inc.

GIB-A-T -0.48%decrease (Wednesday’s close $118.57) rallied from $67.23 in March, 2020, to $116.88 in September, 2021, (A-B) and then had a correction to support near $100 (C). It stayed in a horizontal trading range mostly between $100 and $113 for about nine months (dashed lines). The recent rise above the 2021 high suggests the start of a new leg toward higher targets (D); a sustained rise above $120 would confirm the breakout.

Behaviour indicators including the rising 40-week Moving Average (40wMA) and the rising trendline confirm the bullish status. There is good support near $110; only a sustained decline below this level would be negative.

Point & Figure measurements provide targets of $130 and $145. The large trading range (dashed lines) supports higher targets.

Monica Rizk is the senior technical analyst of the Phases & Cycles publication (www.capitalightresearch.com). Chart source: www.decisionplus.com

Oil steadies after early decline as more rate hikes loom

Oil prices steadied on Thursday after early declines as the dollar firmed while the possibility of further increases to interest rates by central banks also heightened demand concerns.

Brent crude futures rose 14 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $82.84 a barrel by 1055 GMT and U.S. crude futures added 1 cent to $77.29.

Gains in the dollar weighed on prices. A stronger dollar can weaken oil demand because it makes the commodity more expensive for those holding other currencies.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday said that the U.S. central bank will raise interest rates further next year, even as the economy slips towards a possible recession.

“The oil price is under pressure today as the Fed’s hawkish guidance for its monetary policy sparked renewed concerns about economic growth, lifting the U.S. dollar and sending commodity prices down,” said CMC Markets analyst Tina Teng.

Chinese economic data for November was “much lower than expected, further darkening the demand outlook,” Teng added.

The world’s second-biggest economy lost more momentum as factory output slowed and retail sales extended declines, both missing forecasts and clocking their worst readings in six months as COVID-19 cases surged.

Also weighing on oil prices, Canada’s TC Energy Corp said it is resuming operations in a section of its Keystone pipeline, a week after a leak of more than 14,000 barrels of oil in rural Kansas triggered the whole pipe’s shutdown.

Lending some support were projections from the International Energy Agency, which expects Chinese oil demand to recover next year after a contraction this year of 400,000 barrels per day.

Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose by more than 10 million barrels last week, the most since March 2021, the Energy Information Administration said.

Goldman Sachs on Wednesday reduced its oil price forecasts for 2023, citing a projected market surplus early next year as supply from Russia remains robust and China demand ramps up.

Bank of England hikes key rate by 50 basis points, will continue to respond ‘forcefully’ if needed

LONDON — The Bank of England on Thursday hiked its main interest rate by 50 basis points and signaled that more tightening will be needed to rein in inflation.

The Monetary Policy Committee voted 6-3 in favor of the half-percentage-point hike, which takes the bank rate to 3.5%. The rise marks a slowdown from November’s 75 basis point increase.

Having hit a 41-year high in October, the annual rise in the U.K. consumer price index slowed to 10.7% in November, new figures revealed Wednesday.

The slowdown mirrored signs across other major economies such as the U.S. and Germany that inflation may have peaked, though it remains uncomfortably high and well above the Bank of England’s 2% target.

The central bank is trying to drag inflation back toward its target while also remaining sensitive to a weakening economy beset by several unique domestic pressures as well as global headwinds.

This was borne out in the latest U.K. labor market data, published earlier this week, which showed an uptick in both unemployment and wage growth, while economic inactivity and long-term illness rates also remain historically high.

China’s retail sales shrink far more than expected, while industrial production disappoints

• Retail sales fell by 5.9% in November from a year ago, worse than expectations for a decline of 3.7%, according to analysts polled by Reuters.
• Industrial production grew by 2.2% in November from a year ago, missing Reuters’ forecast for a 3.6% increase.
• A day before the data release, China’s National Bureau of Statistics canceled its in-person press conference set for Thursday without explanation.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/15/chinas-retail-sales-shrink-far-more-than-expected-while-industrial-production-disappoints.html