Chinese economy lifts copper prices

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index registered a small loss despite gains in gold, energy and material stocks, while copper prices soared to a two-year high.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index lost 30.98 points to finish the session at 15,171.39. The Canadian dollar was barely changed, ahead 0.01 of a cent to an average trading price of 79.97 cents US.

“We’re seeing broad-based strength,” said Candice Bangsund, a vice-president and portfolio manager at Fiera Capital in Montreal.

In commodities, the September copper contract climbed three cents to US$2.87 a pound, a level not seen since May 2015.

Bangsund said the rally in copper is being driven by signs that China, the world’s largest consumer of the metal, is continuing to show improvements in its economy.

“It’s a story of renewed economic momentum in China and renewed ongoing demand from China,” she said.

Oil prices also gained after the Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude inventories fell 7.2 million barrels last week, far more than what analysts had been expecting. The September crude contract was up 86 cents to US$48.75 per barrel.

On Wall Street, three major indexes climbed to record highs. The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 97.58 points to 21,711.01, the Nasdaq composite index gained 10.58 points to 6,422.75 and the S&P 500 index edged up of 0.7 of a point to 2,477.83.

The U.S. Federal Reserve announced after a two-day meeting it was keeping its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a range of one to 1.25 per cent. The central bank said it decided to hold its key rate due to low inflation, which continues to remains below its two per cent target.

The Fed noted that inflation has stayed low even though the job market keeps strengthening, with the unemployment rate just 4.4 per cent. Normally, solid job growth drives up wages and prices.

The bank has raised rates three times since December and said it still envisions further “gradual” hikes. But many economists don’t expect another increase until later this year or next.

Elsewhere in commodities, the price for August gold fell $2.70 to US$1,249.40 an ounce, while September natural gas was down two cents to US$2.91 per mmBTU.

Meanwhile, Montreal-based Yellow Pages Ltd. said chief executive Julien Billot has left the company. The board of directors said chief financial officer Ken Taylor will be interim chief executive. VANCOUVER — Canadian forestry company West Fraser Timber Co. said it has agreed to buy a U.S. lumber business for about $430 million US.

B.C.-based West Fraser said it will acquire the operations of the Gilman Companies from the Howard Gilman Foundation and other shareholders.

The Gilman Companies are comprised of six sawmills and a finger-joint mill in Florida and Georgia as well as an administrative office in Georgia.

The operations employ 900 people and have a combined annual production capacity of 700 million board feet of lumber.

The deal, which is subject to U.S. regulatory approval and customary conditions, is anticipated to close in the third quarter of this year.

West Fraser Timber to buy U.S. lumber business for $430M