TORONTO - The Toronto stock market was little changed Wednesday as gold prices moved further into record territory and oil prices held firm above US$108 a barrel.
The S&P/TSX composite index moved up 10.58 points to 14,281.11 while the TSX Venture Exchange climbed 14.47 points to 2,368.82.
Higher commodity prices helped push the Canadian dollar to a fresh three -and-a-half-year high, up 0.53 of a cent to 104.28 cents US.
The energy sector was down 0.26 per cent as the May crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 17 cents to US$108.51 a barrel. Suncor Energy (TSX:SU) fell 28 cents to $43.32.
Investors also took in news that the Alberta government said Tuesday it is proposing new protected sites in the oilsands region that would cover three times as much area as Banff National Park. The plan could force oilsands and mineral companies to surrender rights to land they’ve already leased but it allows already planned oil and gas development to proceed even in the conservation areas. And it deliberately avoids protecting any new land in the richest oilsands area where development is heaviest.
Oil rose despite a report from the American Petroleum Institute that crude inventories fell a greater than expected 2.8 million barrels last week, suggesting stronger demand. Analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., had forecast an increase of 1.3 million barrels.
However, inventories of gasoline rose unexpectedly by 568,000 barrels and crude supplies at the key U.S. storage facility in Cushing, Oklahoma rose 120,000 barrels, the API said.
Prices are up more than 27 per cent from mid-February because of the fighting in Libya and fears that it could spread and interrupt supplies from the big producers in the Persian Gulf, such as Saudi Arabia. Higher demand resulting from an improving global economy has also pushed prices higher.
