TSX and loonie higher as oil climbs on OPEC deal

An agreement by OPEC to cut oil production helped push oil prices, along with the loonie and the S&P/TSX Composite Index, higher on Wednesday.

The price of the November contract for light sweet crude rose $2.38 to close at$47.05 US per barrel following media reports that OPEC had reached agreement to limit its output to between 32.5 million and33.0 million barrels per daydown from the current output of 33.24 million barrels a day.

• OPEC agrees to limit oil output at 32.5M barrels per day

Citing unnamed sources, Reuters said the members of OPEC will agree to the output reduction at its next formal meeting in November.

The Canadian dollar, which is closely tied to the movements in the price of oil, rose by 0.54 of a centto 76.28cents US.

On Bay Street, the S&P/TSX Composite Index shot up by173.39 points to end at14,731.43.

Energy stocks led the way, with Canadian Natural Resources up almost seven per cent at $41.17andSuncor up more than four per cent at $35.58,

In the United States, the benchmark Dow 30 index finished at18,339.24, up 110.94 points. The broader S&P 500 rose by11.44 points to 2,171.37, while the Nasdaq composite index ended the trading day at5,318.55, up 12.84 points.

In other commodities, December gold contract fell $6.70 US to $1,323.70 US an ounce and November natural gas contracts fell fivecents at $3 US per mmBtu. December copper contracts climbed two centsat $2.18 US a pound.