CANADA STOCKS-TSX futures fall as Middle East tensions boost oil, weigh on gold

March 23 (Reuters) - Futures linked to Canada's resource-heavy stock index fell on Monday as threats to energy infrastructure in the Gulf sent oil prices sharply higher, while declines in gold and silver added further pressure.

June futures on the S&P/TSX composite index SXFcv1 were down 1% as of 06:23 a.m. ET (1023 GMT).

Oil rallied on Monday as Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they would hit power facilities in Israel and sites that support U.S. bases in the Gulf in retaliation against any attack on its electricity network.

U.S. crude rose 3%, past $100 a barrel, as markets braced for more disruptions to energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. O/R

The war, now in its fourth week, has damaged major energy facilities in the Middle East and nearly halted shipping through Hormuz.

Brokerage Goldman Sachs on Sunday lifted its 2026 Brent and WTI forecast, saying extended disruptions to crude flows through the strait and increased strategic stockpiling are likely to leave the market tighter and more risk-averse.

Although higher oil prices have lifted Canadian energy shares .SPTTEN about 38% this year, the market remains highly exposed to swings in crude prices as the commodity is one of the country's top exports.

Last week, Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE logged its third straight weekly decline and is now down nearly 9% since the start of the war.

Meanwhile, the spotlight will be on Canada's materials sector .GSPTTMT on Monday as gold tumbled to a four-month low and silver and platinum slid to their weakest levels since mid-December on worries of higher interest rates and a spike in inflation amid the Iran war. GOL/

Investors will also monitor transportation headlines after an Air Canada AC.TO Express CRJ-900 collided with a Port Authority emergency vehicle on the LaGuardia runway late Sunday, killing the pilot and co-pilot and injuring more than a dozen others, according to U.S. authorities.

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