Gold sends Canada stocks higher

Canadian stocks bounce back into the black; gold hits $1,500 mark

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Canadian gold miners helped lift the broader market into the black Tuesday as bullion futures advanced into record territory, hitting the key mark of $1,500 an ounce.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index   edged up 0.2%, or 28.9 points, to 13,731.3, swinging back into positive territory after a weak start incited by rising inflation worries.
Toronto’s main metals and mining index  advanced 1.8%, fueled by a 6% jump in shares of base-metals miner Teck Resources Limited . The Vancouver-based company on Monday reported better-than-expected revenue for the first quarter.

 

Also advancing, Canadian gold-mining giant Goldcorp Inc.’s   stock rose 0.5%. Gold for June delivery added $2.20, or 0.2%, to trade at $1,495.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. 

Canada’s energy sector also made a late-day comeback as oil futures turned higher after protests erupted in Nigeria, weakening the U.S. dollar. Toronto’s main energy index   rose 0.1%, adding to the broader market’s gains.
Leading the pack, Calgary-based Suncor Energy’s stock added 0.8%, offsetting declines in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited   and Connacher Oil and Gas Limited , which posted losses of 0.3% and 1.4%, respectively.
Concerns of rising inflation pressured Canadian stocks at the market’s open, after Statistics Canada reported a 3.3% rise in inflation in the 12 months to March. The climb puts the country’s year-over-year inflation increase at its highest since September 2008.
The Canadian dollar   strengthened against its U.S. counterpart, rising 0.8% from Monday’s close. In early April, the Canadian loonie reached its three-year best against the U.S. greenback. On Tuesday, one U.S. dollar purchased 95.5 Canadian cents, down from 96.4 cents at Monday’s close.
The jump in the country’s Consumer Price Index, which is used as a gauge of inflation, rose from 2.2% in the 12 months to February.
Among other notable movers, Toronto shares of Research In Motion Limited    fell 2.2%. The Ontario-based BlackBerry maker released its new PlayBook tablet computer on Tuesday

Loonie up slightly as Bank of Canada says economy slowing, oil prices rise

The Canadian Press, On Wednesday April 13, 2011, 11:43 am EDT
By Malcolm Morrison, The Canadian Press
 

TORONTO - The Canadian dollar was slightly higher against the American currency Wednesday at midday as the Bank of Canada warned the
economy is slowing while oil reversed two days of big slides.
The loonie was up 0.04 of a cent to 103.87 cents US.
The dollar was off early highs after the Bank of Canada said the economy likely grew by a robust 4.2 per cent in the first three months of 2011,
but is already braking sharply. The central bank says in its new Monetary Policy Report that the current second quarter ending June 30 will see
growth slow to two per cent, in part because of supply disruptions in the aftermath of the natural disasters in Japan .
But the disruptions will be temporary, the bank said, and the economy should pick up momentum to 2.7 per cent in the third and fourth
quarters.
The central bank also said exports will come under increasing pressure going forward due to the strong Canadian dollar. It added that the
Canadian dollar is assumed to hold at US$1.03, up from the January assumption of $1.
The monetary report was released a day after the Bank of Canada announced it was leaving its key interest rate unchanged at one per cent. The
Canadian dollar lost about 3/4 of a cent on Tuesday as demand concerns pushed oil down more than US$6 over the last two days.
On Wednesday, the May crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was up 63 cents to US$106.88 a barrel.
Crude had jumped as much as 30 per cent from mid-February as markets quickly applied a high risk premium to oil amid a civil war in Libya
and a wave of unrest that swept across several Mideast countries. But after rising to almost US$113 a barrel last Friday, there were worries
about the degree to which high oil prices would impact demand and a general global recovery. Also, Goldman Sachs warned investors Monday
that crude oil prices were due for a "substantial pullback."
Other commodities were mixed as bullion prices also advanced with the June contract on the Nymex up $6.80 to US$1,460.40 an ounce while
copper prices fell for a third day. The May copper contract in New York dipped five cents to US$4.33 a pound.