Canada Stocks Rise as Dollar Weakness Lifts Gold; Barrick Gains

By Rita Nazareth

Sept. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks rose, led by commodity producers, as gold surpassed $1,000 an ounce and oil prices surged after the dollar dropped against the euro, boosting the appeal of precious metals and demand for crude.

Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s largest producer, gained 1.2 percent as the price of bullion rose to an 18-month high. Suncor Energy Inc., Canada’s largest energy company, added 2.4 percent as crude oil climbed above $70 a barrel. Bombardier Inc., the world’s third-biggest planemaker, climbed 2.9 percent after saying it expects to deliver 550 business jets in India and China.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 84.38 points, or 0.8 percent, to 11,101.85 at 10:15 a.m. in Toronto, extending last week’s 0.4 percent increase.

Energy and raw-materials producers, which combined account for 45 percent of the S&P/TSX Index, rose 1.3 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively. Barrick gained 1.2 percent to C$44, while Suncor added 2.4 percent to C$34.81.

Bullion for December delivery surged to $1,009.40 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, extending this year’s gain to 14 percent. Gold futures, which reached a record $1,033.90 in March 2008, are set for a ninth yearly gain. Crude-oil futures and all six industrial metals on the London Metal Exchange rallied as the Dollar Index lost as much as 1.2 percent to the lowest in almost a year. Raw materials typically move inversely to the U.S. currency.

Crude oil for October delivery rose $2.63, or 3.9 percent, to $70.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures climbed as much as $2.99, or 4.4 percent, the most since Aug. 19. Prices are up 58 percent this year.

Bombardier climbed 2.9 percent to C$4.60. The planemaker expects to deliver 550 business jets in India and China by 2018 as emerging markets help offset slumping demand in the U.S. and Europe. There are currently 86 Bombardier jets in China, with another 300 deliveries expected by 2018, according to Bombardier. India, which will receive 250 jets, has 106 nationwide at present.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rita Nazareth in New York at rnazareth@bloomberg.net.