The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market appeared headed for a higher open Wednesday as commodity prices advanced in the wake of good economic news from China.

U.S. market futures signalled a strong opening in New York as investors keep rallying around the expectation that interest rates will remain low for some time.

The Dow Jones industrial futures ran ahead 61 points to 10,278, the Nasdaq futures were up 15.5 points to 1,788 while the S&P 500 futures advanced 7.4 points to 1,099.3.

A weaker U.S. currency helped send the Canadian dollar ahead 0.58 of a cent to US95.81¢.

American currency weakness also helped send the December crude contract up 33¢ to US$79.38 a barrel.

Crude traders were watching the dollar closely, as a weaker U.S. currency makes oil cheaper for investors buying the commodity with non-dollar currencies. The rise in crude came amid a warning from OPEC that demand for crude oil will slip in the industrialized nations next year if oil prices climb and are sustained above their current level.

OPEC has revised its 2010 global crude demand up to 85.07 million barrels per day — 75,000 barrels per day higher than its assessment last month. But OPEC said in its November report that if prices climb and are sustained at higher levels, it would result in a 1% decline in demand in industrialized nations.

Gold prices moved further into record territory, with the December Nymex contract up $14 to US$1,116.50 an ounce after earlier going as high as $1,118.60.

December copper moved up 4¢ to $3 a pound as the slump in China’s exports eased last month amid rising industrial output and retail sales.

Exports fell 13.8% in October, the smallest decrease in 10 months, according to government figures. Imports dropped by 6.4% over the same period, a slightly faster pace than in September.

China’s retail sales were up 16.2% in October from the same month last year, while industrial output rose 16.1%.

Together, the monthly figures provide the latest evidence that China’s economy will meet or surpass the government’s goal of 8% economic growth for the full year.

Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei stock average was higher in the morning before closing virtually unchanged while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.6%.