North American stock markets slipped Friday as a new report on U.S. inflation spooked investors.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 22.12 points, or 0.11 per cent, at 19,947.07.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 305.02 points at 33,476.46. The S&P 500 Index was down 29.13 points at 3,934.38, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 77.38 points at 11,004.62.

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.37 cents U.S. compared with 73.63 cents U.S. on Thursday.

The January crude contract was down 44 cents at $71.02 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was up 28 cents at US$6.25 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract was up US$9.20 at US$1,810.70 an ounce and the March copper contract was down half a cent at US$3.88 a pound.