Canadian stocks bounce back as oil reaches 3-month high

Canada's main stock market ended a three-day losing slump on Wednesday as crude oil prices reached its highest level in three months.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index rose 89.57 points, or 0.62 percent, to close at 14,610.58 points. Six of the ten sub-sectors in the index advanced on the day.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) surprised the market with crude inventories dropping 3 million barrels last week, compared to the forecasts of a 2.6 million-barrel increase.

Crude oil prices subsequently rose to the highest levels since late June. Brent crude for December delivery rose 0.96 U.S. dollars to 51.78 dollars a barrel in London.

TSX Energy group made the biggest move on the day, gaining 2.35 percent. Calgary-based energy producers Baytex Energy Corp. and Encana Corporation saw shares surge 8.50 percent to 4.45 dollars and 3.74 percent to 10.94 dollars, respectively.

A day after a 3.11-percent dip, gold prices held steady on Wednesday with a 0.06-percent gain to close at 1269.20 dollars an ounce.

Shares of Barrick Gold Corporation, the world's largest gold mining company, spiked 3.33 percent to 15.98 dollars after receiving approval to resume operations in Veladero, one of the largest gold mines in Argentina, after it was shut down for three weeks due to cyanide spillage.

Meanwhile, Kinross Gold Corporation, the fifth largest gold miner in the world, saw shares rise 1.27 percent to 3.39 dollars after reaching a labor agreement with its unionized employees in Mauritania.

On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that Canadian exports rose 0.6 percent to 32.93 billion dollars, while imports remained unchanged at 34.4 billion dollars. Canadian exports to China rose 5.7 percent to 1.51 billion dollars, while imports from China fell 1.5 percent to 2.31 billion dollars.

The Canadian dollar closed the day at 0.7586 U.S. dollars, compared to Tuesday's closing rate of 0.7579 dollars.

Source : XINHUA