TORONTO -- The Canadian dollar and Toronto Stock Exchange lost some ground Monday as key U.S. markets stayed closed for a holiday south of the border.

The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 17.99 points at 15,479.29.

The base metals and consumer discretionary sectors dragged down the index, while the gold sector provided some relief as its stocks gained the most ground on average.

The price of the precious metal soared past US$1,208.70 during the day's electronic trading -- a price the commodity hasn't settled above since late November.

The February gold contract advanced $6.40 to US$1,202.60 an ounce in electronic trading shortly after 4 p.m. ET.

The major U.S. stock markets remained closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day as the International Monetary Fund released its economic outlook and raised its forecast for America's economy this year and the next.

The IMF anticipates the U.S. economy will expand by 2.3 per cent in 2017 (up 0.1 of a percentage point) and by 2.5 per cent in 2018 (up 0.4 of a percentage point).

However, it's unlikely the U.S. stock indexes will advance much based on that news when they reopen for their regular trading hours on Tuesday.

"A lot of positive sentiment is already priced into the market," said Sid Mokhtari, a market technician at CIBC World Markets.

The loonie fell short of keeping its momentum going and after eight straight days of gains, it finally broke its streak.

The Canadian dollar shed 0.21 of a U.S. cent at 75.97 cents US.

While the loonie continues to experience slight weakness against the greenback, said Mokhtari, it's faring much better relative to the British pound.

The pound fell 1.14 cents to about C$1.59 on Monday, ahead of a speech by British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday.

May has indicated she'll take a Goldilocks Brexit approach regarding how the United Kingdom will leave the European Union -- one between a clean break called a hard Brexit and compromise called a soft Brexit.

The pound fell after suggestions she would advocate the U.K. leave the EU's single market, which treats the EU as having no internal borders and guarantees no tariffs on goods and services.

EU leaders have said Britain can't remain in the single market if it won't allow for free movement of people within the EU.

That may be positive news for Canadians wishing to travel to England, said Mokhtari, but certainly brings jitters for U.K. assets.

Elsewhere in commodities, after 4 p.m. ET, the February crude contract gained 27 cents to US$52.64 per barrel, February natural gas gained 6.2 cents to US$3.48 per mmBTU, and March copper contracts fell about 3.1 cents to roughly US$2.66 a pound in electronic trading.

-- With files from the Associated Press