West Texas Intermediate and Saudi Aramco

international contract: Oil got a boost on Thursday after Saudi Aramco cut the official selling price of its crude for the U.S. market, according to CBC. The West Texas Intermediate contract was up 65 cents at $46.90 US a barrel and Brent, the most important international contract traded in London, rose 32 cents to $50.82. The loonie rose close to half a cent to 75.80 cents US at the close of trading. Friday job numbers may tell tales GDP missed: Don PittisRecession confirmed as Canada GDP shrank in 2nd quarter Oil took a steep slide earlier this week amid worries about China slowing growth and has been volatile all summer. Most of the U.S. service sector is "less exposed to weakening in foreign demand, and more exposed to what increasingly appears to be strengthening domestic demand," says Jim O'Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. Today investors have been encouraged by positive economic news out of the United States, including strong trade data and news that the service sector, which is the bulk of the U.S. economy, is expanding at a healthy pace. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.