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TORONTO, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Canada's main stock market in Toronto ended higher Friday as economic data revealed the consequence brought by the massive wildfire in Alberta that hit oil sands production in May.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index gained 30.00 point, or 0.21 percent, to close at 14,582.72 points. Half of the TSX index's eight main sub-sectors were higher.
Statistics Canada said Friday the country's economy contracted by 0.6 percent in May, as wildfires in Alberta and a slowdown in manufacturing elsewhere in the country combined to create the worst monthly GDP figure since March 2009.
Canada's gross domestic product was hit hard by the Fort McMurray fires, as the non-conventional oil and gas extraction sector declined by 22 percent in May. Manufacturing output was also down 2.4 percent, the largest decline since January 2009.
U.S. oil prices increased on Friday as a weaker greenback made the dollar-denominated oil more attractive for holders of other currencies.
The West Texas Intermediate for September delivery added 0.46 U.S. dollars to settle at 41.60 dollars a barrel, while Brent crude for September delivery erased 0.24 dollars to close at 42.46 dollars a barrel.
TSX energy took a positive turn as Baytex Energy Corp., which gained 5.51 percent to 6.13 Canadian dollars (4.69 U.S. dollars), and Birchcliff Energy Ltd., up 6.79 percent to 9.44 Canadian dollars, became the most influential advancers.
Pipeline operator Enbridge Inc. rebounded 4.49 percent to 53.71 Canadian dollars while Imperial Oil Limited lost 0.57 percent to 40.17 Canadian dollars.
Both companies reported earnings that were negatively impacted by massive wildfires in northern Alberta, which at one point cut Canada's crude output by more than a million barrels a day.
Among gold concerns, Barrick Gold Corp. added 1.71 percent to 28.51 Canadian dollars and B2Gold Corp. gained 3.54 percent to 4.09 Canadian dollars.
Statistics Canada also reported the industrial product price index rose 0.6 percent in June, mainly due to higher prices for energy and petroleum products.
Its raw materials price index jumped 1.8 percent, as a result of higher prices for crude energy products.
The Canadian dollar traded higher at 0.7659 U.S. dollar, compared with Thursday's closing rate of 0.7598 U.S. dollar. Enditem
