Canadian Dollar and Business Outlook: Loonie steady, crude oil eases off

Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar stayed relatively steady coming out of the weekend despite an ongoing decline in crude oil prices.

The loonie was at US$0.7242 or US$1=C$1.3808 as of 8:35 a.m. CDT, compared to Friday’s close at US$0.7246 or US$1=C$1.3800. The United States Dollar Index dropped below the 100-point mark, losing 0.53 of a point at 99.50.

OPEC+ announced it will raise crude oil output by 411,000 barrels per day as of June 1. As a result, crude oil prices continued to fall with Brent crude oil down US$0.86 per barrel at US$60.43 and West Texas Intermediate losing US$0.94/barrel at US$57.35.

The TSX/S&P Composite Index lost 82.58 points at 24,948.93.

Gold jumped US$80 per ounce at $3,323.30.