TORONTO – Another indication of a slowing Chinese economy was expected to weigh on the Toronto stock market Wednesday.

The Canadian dollar rose while the greenback weakened ahead of the afternoon release of the latest minutes from the most recent meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve. The loonie was ahead 0.17 of a cent to 95.17 cents US.

U.S. futures were also weak ahead of the Fed minutes with the Dow Jones industrial futures off seven points to 15,215, the Nasdaq futures down 2.8 points to 2,971.5 and the S&P 500 futures off 2.5 points to 1,643.

The most recent concerns about the health of the world’s second-biggest economy grew after the release of disappointing trade data.

China’s exports fell by 3.1 per cent in June compared with a year earlier and imports contracted by 0.7 per cent, customs data showed Wednesday. Both were below forecasts of growth in the low single digits.

The report was issued a day after the International Monetary Fund scaled back its China 2013 growth forecast to 7.8 per cent from 8.1 per cent.

The figures fed into perceptions that China’s economic expansion is slowing due to weak global demand and an effort by the Chinese central bank to cool a credit boom.

Meanwhile, the publication of the minutes to the last policy meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve may provide clues as to when the central bank will start reining in monetary stimulus.

As part of its latest stimulus to the U.S. economy, the Fed has been buying US$85 billion of financial assets a month to keep interest rates low and encourage borrowing and spending.

That stimulus has been a major factor in driving global stocks higher, so the prospect of it being tapered has caused market volatility in recent weeks. Recently, however, investors have been focusing more on improvements in the U.S. economy, such as last Friday’s jobs report for June that blew past expectations.

Traders will also take in a speech by Fed chairman Ben Bernanke during the afternoon.

Commodity markets were higher despite the glum Chinese data.

The August crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange ran ahead $1.62 to US$105.112 a barrel amid a sign of growing crude demand in the U.S.

Financial data provider Bloomberg said U.S. crude inventories fell by nine million barrels last week. A drop in supplies would suggest stronger demand and underline the signs of economic recovery shown in last week’s stronger-than-expected U.S. hiring report.

Growing unrest in Egypt has also helped support oil prices lately.

August gold gained $10.60 to $1,256.50 an ounce while September copper gained a cent to US$3.08 a pound.

Earlier in Asia, China’s Shanghai Composite Index had a solid day, ending 2.2 per cent higher despite the trade figures as investors bought up some beaten down stocks following two days of losses. The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index gained 2.9 per cent.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index was down 0.4 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.1 per cent.

European bourses were negative with London’s FTSE 100 index down 0.44 per cent, Frankfurt’s DAX was down 0.38 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 declined 0.36 per cent.

In corporate news, Mobilicity says it has adjourned a debtholder vote on the struggling wireless company’s recapitalization plan. Instead, the company says is it in discussions with “multiple parties” on an acquisition plan. The proposed acquisition partners were not identified.