The rapidly falling price of oil dragged down Toronto’s stock market on Monday amid lingering worries for the country’s economic outlook this year. The last time the Canadian dollar closed beneath the 70-cent USA mark was on April 30, 2003, when it was 69.76 cents U.S.
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Crude reversed an advance and headed for a fresh 12-year low, decreasing as much as 4 percent in NY.
If there was one bright spot Tuesday, it was the S&P/TSX composite index, which added 54.65 points to end the day at 12,373.90 – its first positive result since the Christmas break.
Metals and mining sector saw a second day of sharp loses, posing a 5.18 percent drop. Vancouver-based B2Gold Corp. lost 10.45 percent to 1.20 Canadian dollars a share.
Equities around the world have tumbled to start the year as concern that slowing growth in China will thwart worldwide growth returned after the nation unexpectedly set lower reference rates for its currency.
The slump in China and its knock-on effects on commodity prices, especially oil, continued to drive down both the dollar and the TSX.
The Canadian dollar was at 70.48 cents USA, down 0.20 cent from Friday’s close but had been up earlier.
The Bank of Canada released a new survey Monday which concluded that the hiring and investment intentions of companies have dropped to their lowest levels since 2009. “Plans to cut staff are more widespread and not confined to the commodity-producing sectors and regions”.
The Canadian housing market also showed signs of cooling in December, with housing starts coming in lower than expected despite warm weather and a solid pace throughout 2015.
The meetings will be a mix of traditional closed-door sessions with stakeholder groups, ranging from manufacturing to cultural organizations, plus a couple of public events in each location where people will get a chance to offer their opinions directly to the federal minister.
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However, oil briefly reversed course after a rise in weekly USA crude inventories fed into bearish sentiment about the deepening global supply glut that has brought prices close to 12-year lows.
