Canadian Dollar and Business Outlook: Loonie boosted by weaker U.S. dollar
Crude oil up modestly
By Glen Hallick
Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar was higher on Thursday morning as its United States counterpart continued to slide downward.
As of 8:34 am CST, the loonie was at US$0.6969 or US$1=C$1.4347 compared to Wednesday’s close of US$0.6959 or US$1=C$1.4370. On the U.S. Dollar Index, the greenback gave up 0.282 of a point at 103.970.
Benchmark crude oil prices were higher on Thursday morning, attempting to recover from losses generated by U.S. tariffs and OPEC+ set to increase its output next month.
Brent crude oil tacked on 24 cents at US$69.54 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate added 34 cents at US$66.65.
Statistics Canada reported on Thursday that the country’s merchandise exports increased 5.5 per cent in January and imports rose 2.3 per cent. That boosted Canada’s merchandise trade surplus to C$4 billion, the largest since May 2022.
The TSX/S&P Composite Index gave up 235.95 points at 24,634.87.
Gold was down US$10.70 at US$2,915.30 per ounce.
