Crude prices snap winning streak
An eight-day winning streak for oil prices ended today amid news that Russia isn’t interested in pursuing deeper production cuts.
The August crude contract fell back $1.94 to $45.13 US per barrel.
Energy shares weighed on Canada’s main stock index but were offset by gains from rising gold stocks. The SP/TSX composite index finished up 22.51 points at 15,153.12.
The downward pressure also hurt the Canadian dollar, which was down 0.19 of a cent at 77.11 cents US.
Trading was similarly quiet on U.S. markets, which reopened after taking the July 4 holiday off.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.1 points to 21,478.17 and the SP 500 index edged up 3.53 points to 2,432.54. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index climbed 40.80 points to 6,150.86.
Elsewhere in commodities, the August natural gas contract dipped 11 cents at $2.84 US per mmBTU and the September copper contract fell three cents at $2.66 USÂ a pound. Bullion prices shone as the August gold contract gained $2.50 to $1,221.70 US an ounce.