(Updates prices, sectors) April 15 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index rose on Thursday as gold prices jumped on the back of lower Treasury yields and a weaker dollar, while Barrick Gold Corp gained on a positive earnings forecast. Canadian miner Barrick Gold Corp rose 1.6% after it maintained its full-year outlook even as gold production slipped nearly 9% in the first quarter, and also forecast higher output in the second half of the year as it ramps up some operations. * The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 1.8% as gold futures rose 0.9% to $1,750.1 an ounce. * At 8:37 a.m. ET (13:37 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 113.82 points, or 0.59%, at 19,285.48. * Producer prices in Canada most likely rose by 1.6% in March from February, Statistics Canada said in a preliminary flash estimate. Excluding energy and petroleum products, the producer prices likely rose 1.3%. * The energy sector was unchanged as U.S. crude prices were down 0.4% a barrel, while Brent crude lost 0.2%. * The financials sector gained 0.2%. The industrials sector rose 0.6%. * On the TSX, 167 issues were higher, while 54 issues declined for a 3.09-to-1 ratio favouring gainers, with 13.46 million shares traded. * The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Martinrea International, which jumped 4.0%, and B2Gold Corp , which rose 3.6%. * Northland Power fell 6.3%, the most on the TSX, while the second-biggest decliner was Air Canada, down 1.8%. * The most heavily traded shares by volume were Royal Bank of Canada, St Augustin Gold & Copper and Nevada Copper, which was flat. * The TSX posted five new 52-week highs and no new lows. * Across all Canadian issues there were 73 new 52-week highs and four new lows, with total volume of 27.21 million shares. (Reporting by Shashank Nayar in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Aditya Soni)