April 9 (Reuters) - Futures for Canada's main stock index inched lower on Thursday as investors weighed developments in the Middle East, while uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil prices higher.
June futures on the S&P/TSX index were down 0.13% at 5:22 a.m. ET (9:22 a.m. GMT).
* United States President Donald Trump warned of majorescalation in the Iran war if the peace process failed, addingthat the military assets will remain in that region until a dealis reached. * Iran had signaled a risk to the ceasefire on Wednesday,following Israeli strikes on Lebanon and Washington's insistenceon Tehran abandoning its nuclear ambitions. * Oil prices rose, with futures for Brent crude and the U.S.West Texas Intermediate crude trading above $97 a barrel. [O/R] * Spot gold gained 0.3%, and silver was down 0.1%. [GOL/] * The U.S. Federal Reserve's minutes from March 17-18meeting showed openness among policymakers for rate hikes citingrisks of inflation due to oil shock. * The Fed's preferred inflation gauge, Personal ConsumptionExpenditure (PCE) data for February, is scheduled for release at8:30 a.m. ET. * Canada's benchmark stock index closed at a five-week highon Wednesday, as U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement sparked a reliefrally. * In after-the-bell results on Wednesday, aerospace techfirm Firan Technology's quarterly revenue beat estimates.
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(Reporting by Utkarsh Tushar Hathi; Editing by Joyjeet Das)
