Lower oil prices threaten investment prospects

The faltering global economy has driven commodity prices lower, with Canadian oil prices down sharply from levels earlier this year. Although oil prices have risen somewhat over the past week, we doubt that this trend will be sustained without markedly better prospects for global demand. While we expect oil prices to drift back down again, should oil prices fall too much further, then business investment in the oil sands, a key support to the domestic economy, is likely to suffer.