The price of oil dipped below US$50 Friday amid concerns about the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate-change agreement.
The fear is that the decision to exit the 195-country accord could spark more drilling activity in the United States and potentially increase global supply.
Brent crude futures slipped by almost 3% to $49.14 per barrel early Friday, down US$1.49 from the previous close.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped US$1.45 cents to US$46.91.
Despite OPEC efforts to reduce global supply, U.S. crude oil production jumped by almost 500,000 barrels per day last week, in comparison to year earlier levels.
Shares of
Encana Corp. (
TSX: T.ECA,
NYSE: ECA,
Forum) were active Friday, falling 1.4% to $13.10.
Encana is Canada’s second largest oil and natural gas producer.