CANADA STOCKS-TSX futures fall as oil prices slip; Fed minutes in focus

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Futures for Canada's main stock index slipped on Wednesday dragged by a fall in oil prices, while investors worried about interest rates staying higher for longer as they awaited the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve policy meeting. March futures on the S&P/TSX index were down 0.2%, as of 7:11 a.m. ET, while their Wall Street counterparts were flat. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index , like the main U.S. stock indexes, recorded its biggest single-day percentage decline in 2023 on Tuesday as data highlighting economic resilience fanned fears that top central banks would need to keep tightening monetary policy. Oil prices fell on Wednesday as concerns about fuel demand were stoked by expectations that Fed minutes, due at 2:00 p.m. ET (1900 GMT), will indicate a need to hike interest rates. In company news, a Brookfield-led consortium on Tuesday trimmed its offer for Origin Energy by 1%, valuing the Australian power producer and energy retailer at A$15.33 billion ($10.5 billion), after government's move to cap gas prices hit valuations in the sector. Equinox Gold Corp beat fourth-quarter profit estimates but the gold miner posted a decline in earnings hurt by lower production and higher operating costs amid inflationary pressures. Ritchie Bros Auctioneers reported a fourth-quarter profit beat, with a rise in net income boosted by higher interest income. COMMODITIES AT 7:11 a.m. ET

Gold futures : $1,838.7; +0.25% US crude : $75.58; -1.02% Brent crude : $82.23; -0.99% FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES: TSX market report Canadian dollar and bonds report Reuters global stocks poll for Canada Canadian markets directory ($1 = 1.3547 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng)