Gold and oil prices were both lower Tuesday morning, pushing down the Toronto Stock Exchange, while U.S. markets struggled with news of a record-high trade deficit in the U.S.

At midday, the S&P/TSX composite index was down 48.55 points or 0.50% at 9595.57, while the TSX Venture Exchange slid 17.89 points or 0.97% at 1820.66.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrials was 67.63 points or 0.65% lower at 10380.93. The Nasdaq composite lost 14.25 points or 0.72% at 1977.87 while the S&P 500 index slipped 8.25 points or 0.70% at 1172.96.

The Canadian dollar fell 0.49 of a cent to US80.60¢.

Gold closed in London Tuesday at US$426.65 bid per troy ounce, down from $428.60 late Monday. In Zurich the bid price was $426.85, down from $428.03. Gold rose $1.00 to close at $429.15 in Hong Kong.

Crude futures also slumped on the heels of a revised forecast from the International Energy Agency for slowing growth in oil demand this year. Light, sweet crude for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 41¢ to US$53.30 a barrel by late afternoon in Europe.

On the TSX, energy shares slipped 1.08% while gold issues were off 0.92% and the diversified metals and minerals sub-group was down 1.93%.

Only four of the 13 TSX sub-groups were up, including financials issues, up 0.20%

In New York, investors were unnerved by the U.S.’s soaring trade deficit sent stocks lower Tuesday, with the selling further exacerbated by a rise in crude oil futures.

The trade deficit hit a record high of US$61 billion in February, a 4.3% increase over January that was far more than economists had expected. While U.S. exports rose by just US$50 million, imports soared by US$2.58 billion. With the dollar still relatively weak, the trade deficit news heightened fears that inflation could take hold if foreigners abandon U.S. investments and U.S. consumers have to spend more on imported goods.

More news on inflation could come later in the day, as the Federal Reserve was expected to release the minutes of the Open Market Committee’s March 22 meeting at 2 p.m. EDT. The minutes often serve to provide additional information on the Fed’s thinking on inflation and interest rates.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 0.64%. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.47%, Germany’s DAX index lost 0.25%, and France’s CAC-40 dropped 0.53%.