The last time oil closed above $50 a barrel was July 21 of last year, when it finished at $50.86 US a barrel. The price of a barrel of the North American oil benchmark briefly touched $50 US for the first time since October. Later in the day, oil gave up those gains and closed down eight cents at $49.48 US a barrel. A barrel of West Texas Intermediate was changing hands at $50.03 early Thursday, up 47 cents since the previous day's close. A day earlier, the TSX closed above the 14,000-pt level for the first time this year.

Source: CBC News May 26, 2016 07:08 UTC