TORONTO, July 5 (Reuters) - A power outage hit parts of Toronto on Monday after a fire at a transformer station, but the outage appeared to have little impact on financial markets.
Power was also affected at the Fairmont Royal York hotel in downtown Toronto, where Queen Elizabeth is due to have dinner later on Monday.
The outage hit just after 4:30 p.m. (2030 GMT), knocking out traffic lights and blacking out screens on some trading floors of downtown banks. A CTV news report said the power outage was due to a fire at a transformer station in west Toronto.
Shawn Osborne, chief currency strategist at TD Securities, a unit of Toronto-Dominion Bank, said the outage had little impact on markets, due to the late hour and to the fact that trading was light because of the U.S. Independence Day holiday.
'It's not the entire floor. Some people have lost power and other people haven't. We're probably pretty lucky in that it's a quiet afternoon,' he said.
Steven Butler, a currency trader at Scotia Capital, said trading on his floor was unaffected.
The blackout, which prompted bank employees to flood the streets in the city's financial core, is reminiscent of the 2003 blackout that hit Toronto and parts of the eastern seaboard.
The Toronto Stock Exchange did not return calls seeking comment on the potential impact on settlements of trades.
The Toronto Transit Commission said the blackout had forced it to shut down service on part of the city's subway system.
(Reporting by Cameron French; Editing by Frank McGurty) Keywords: TORONTO/POWER (cameron.french@thomsonreuters.com; 416-941-8199: Reuters Messaging: cameron.french.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Power was also affected at the Fairmont Royal York hotel in downtown Toronto, where Queen Elizabeth is due to have dinner later on Monday.
The outage hit just after 4:30 p.m. (2030 GMT), knocking out traffic lights and blacking out screens on some trading floors of downtown banks. A CTV news report said the power outage was due to a fire at a transformer station in west Toronto.
Shawn Osborne, chief currency strategist at TD Securities, a unit of Toronto-Dominion Bank, said the outage had little impact on markets, due to the late hour and to the fact that trading was light because of the U.S. Independence Day holiday.
'It's not the entire floor. Some people have lost power and other people haven't. We're probably pretty lucky in that it's a quiet afternoon,' he said.
Steven Butler, a currency trader at Scotia Capital, said trading on his floor was unaffected.
The blackout, which prompted bank employees to flood the streets in the city's financial core, is reminiscent of the 2003 blackout that hit Toronto and parts of the eastern seaboard.
The Toronto Stock Exchange did not return calls seeking comment on the potential impact on settlements of trades.
The Toronto Transit Commission said the blackout had forced it to shut down service on part of the city's subway system.
(Reporting by Cameron French; Editing by Frank McGurty) Keywords: TORONTO/POWER (cameron.french@thomsonreuters.com; 416-941-8199: Reuters Messaging: cameron.french.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.