North American stocks may slip Tuesday morning as Canada’s inflation rate rose and oil prices moved up with colder weather.

Consumer prices accelerated for the fourth consecutive month in December, Statistics Canada reported today. Consumers paid 1.6% more for the goods and services in the Consumer Price Index basket in December 2006 than they did a year earlier. This increase remains below the 2% average posted for 2006.

Separately, the government agency said retail sales rose 0.2% in November, thanks to strong sales at gasoline stations. Excluding the automotive sector, which includes gasoline station sales, retail sales actually declined by 0.6% in November.

As well, StatsCan reported that the composite leading index grew by 0.3% in December, after a 0.5% surge the month before. Growth continued to be driven by consumer spending and financial markets. Sluggish export markets in the U.S. restrained growth.

The Canadian dollar opened at US84.53¢, down 0.02 of a cent.

Oil prices rose Tuesday as cold weather settled in on the northeastern United States. Light sweet crude for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 40¢ to US$52.98 in electronic trading by afternoon in Europe.

In M&A news, Royal Dutch Shell PLC has sweetened its offer for the rest of Shell Canada Ltd. to $8.7 billion, winning support from the Canadian firm’s board of directors. The European oil giant already owns 78% of Shell Canada.

In earnings news, Alcatel-Lucent warned that a weak performance in the fourth quarter will lead to full-year 2006 revenue coming in at a similar level to 2005 figures at the telecommunications-equipment manufacturer.

Bank of America’s fourth-quarter net income jumped 47%, while rival Wachovia saw a 35% gain in net income, as the banks were able to partially offset a tough interest-rate environment with revenue from acquisitions.

DuPont’s fourth-quarter net income surged on one-time gains as the company rebounded from year-earlier plant disruptions caused by Gulf Coast hurricanes. Net sales increased 7.7% to US$6.28 billion.

Key European indexes dropped in early action.

Markets in Japan and Hong Kong ended flat.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index dipped 15.61 points, or 0.09 per cent, to finish at 17,408.57.

In Hong Kong, The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 2.52 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 20,769.7.

Toronto stocks gave up early gains and closed slightly lower on Monday.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 13.22 points, or 0.1%, at 12,705.77


The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 4.45 points to finish at 2,846.88.

The Canadian dollar slipped 0.77 of a cent to close at US84.55¢.

U.S. stocks slid on Monday as investors sold off shares of technology firms.

The Dow Jones industrial average recorded its worst one-day percentage decline since late November.

The Dow fell 88.37 points, or 0.70%, to end at 12,477.16. The S&P 500 declined 7.55 points, or 0.53%, to finish at 1,422.95. The Nasdaq composite index lost 20.24 points, or 0.83%, to close at 2,431.07.