After posting nice returns earlier in the week, the Canadian markets took a well deserved rest during Friday trading. For the tale of the tape: the TSX Exchange tacked on 0.11%, while the TSX Gold Index fell 0.60%, and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, added 0.50% with the advancers beating out the decliners by a 415 to 373 margin on a modest 137 million shares traded.

Base metals were higher on Friday. Copper rose 0.26 cents to close at $2.4919/lb. Nickel gained nearly 23 cents to finish at $7.5266/lb. Zinc climbed almost one penny, ending at $0.7530/lb. Aluminum added a cent and a half, closing at $0.7957/lb., while lead moved to $0.7880/lb., up a penny and a half from the previous session.

In the energy market, crude oil for September delivery rose 89 cents from Thursday to close at $68.05/barrel. August reformulated gasoline rose a quarter of a cent to finish at $1.9159/gallon.

In the currency market, the dollar moved lower against the euro. Late Friday, the euro was trading at $1.4215 vs. $1.4194 on Thursday.

Gold traded sideways through Hong Kong then shot north at the London open and remained range-bound between $951 and $953 for the rest of the day, finishing at $951.60/oz., up $3.60. For the week, gold is up 1.5%.

The resource-rich Canadian markets continued to gain momentum to the upside during Thursday trading with only the gold sector showing signs of weakness. For the tale of the tape; the TSX Exchange surged 2.33%, while the TSX Gold Index fell 0.79% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, added 1.28% with the advancers beating out the decliners by a 432 to 371 margin on 184 million shares traded.

Base metals were mixed on Thursday. Copper fell 1.25 cents to close at $2.4893/lb. Nickel gained just over 1 cent to finish at $7.2998/lb. Zinc lost almost one penny, ending at $0.7450/lb. Aluminum rose a cent and change, closing at $0.7798/lb., while lead moved to $0.7719/lb., down half a penny from the previous session.

In the energy market, crude oil for September delivery shot up $1.76 from Wednesday to close at $67.16/barrel. August reformulated gasoline rose 7.49 cents to finish at $1.9132/gallon.

In the currency market, the dollar inched up against the euro. Late Thursday, the euro was trading at $1.4194 vs. $1.4214 on Tuesday.

Gold didn’t do much through Hong Kong and London then showed some volatility in Comex trading, reaching an intraday high above $957 around 1 p.m. in New York and tumbling down from there through the Globex, finishing at its intraday low of $948.00/oz., down $3.10. Overnight, gold is little changed.