Everything You Need to Know on Friday: Oil Prices Climb as Traders Anticipate Israel's Reaction to Iran's Attack

Good morning mooers! Here are things you need to know about today's market:

●S&P/TSX 60 Index Standard Futures are trading at 1,434.29, down 0.22% from previous close

● Canadian Dollar Weakens Amid Rate Cuts and Rising Unemployment

● Oil Prices Climb as Traders Anticipate Israel's Reaction to Iran's Attack

● Hut 8 Rises 1.8% in US Premarket Following September 2024 Operations Update

● Canagold Resources' New Polaris Project Progresses to Process Planning Stage

Today, the Canadian dollar is trading at 73.6 US cents, a decrease from the previous close.

Canadian Dollar Weakens Amid Rate Cuts and Rising Unemployment: September Economic Overview

In September, the Canadian dollar (CAD) weakened slightly against the US dollar (USD), with the USD/CAD rate rising from 1.3496 to 1.3510. The Bank of Canada (BoC) cut its key policy rate by 25 basis points to 4.25%, marking three consecutive cuts. Despite this, the CAD was the worst-performing non-USD G10 currency.

The BoC indicated that future cuts will depend on economic data, and the OIS market suggests both the BoC and the US Federal Reserve may implement similar easing measures. Meanwhile, Canada's unemployment rate rose to 6.6%, the highest since September 2021, dampening wage pressures as hiring fails to keep pace with new entrants to the job market.

Oil prices rose for the fourth straight day on Friday as traders awaited Israel's response to Iran's missile attack. West Texas Intermediate crude gained $0.61 to $74.32 per barrel, while December Brent crude increased $0.67 to $78.29.

Since the October 1 attack, oil has surged nearly 10%, fueled by concerns of a widening Middle Eastern conflict that could disrupt Persian Gulf supplies. U.S. President Biden indicated that Israel and the U.S. are considering a retaliatory strike on Iranian oil infrastructure.

Despite potential risks, experts believe Iran's exports could be quickly replaced, with OPEC+ holding over six million barrels per day in shut-in production and Libya set to resume 750,000 barrels per day. However, low institutional interest and rising speculative buying have driven prices higher, though this speculation could quickly reverse if conditions change.

Stocks to watch

Key highlights include a partnership with BITMAIN to host the U3S21EXPH ASIC miner in early 2025, aiming for 20 EH/s of self-mining capacity and generating approximately US$135 million in annualized hosting revenue. The company also launched 1,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs for its new GPU-as-a-service subsidiary, Highrise AI, Inc. Additionally, it equitized a nearly $38 million Anchorage Digital loan at $16.395 per share and is on track to complete the Cedarvale site buildout by December.

The recommendation follows a thorough review of the project's environmental and socio-economic impacts. Canagold emphasized its proactive engagement with the Taku River Tlingit and other stakeholders, which led to a decision to produce high-grade flotation concentrate instead of on-site dore production. This change aims to reduce environmental impacts and enhance economic viability by lowering power requirements, eliminating cyanide use, improving freight transportation, and minimizing site storage needs.