Canadian Financial Close: C$ down with oil

By Commodity News Service Canada

WINNIPEG, March 15 (CNS Canada) – The Canadian dollar was weaker on Tuesday, with losses in crude oil behind some of the weakness.

Positioning ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on Wednesday was a feature in the currency markets, keeping activity somewhat subdued.

The Canadian dollar closed at US$0.7484 or US$1=C$1.3362, which compares with Monday’s close of US$0.7537, or US$1=C$1.3267.

The TSX ended lower, with the health-care sector seeing some more attention than usual as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. posted large declines. The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 77.23 points, or 0.57%, to close at 13,400.31.

Canada’s agricultural sector faired as follows:
AGT Food and Ingredients—–dn $ 0.60 at $ 37.86
Agrium Incorporated———-dn $ 0.13 at $119.24
Buhler Industries————– $ 0.00 at $ 4.95
Maple Leaf Foods————-dn $ 0.31 at $ 26.78
Potash Corp. of Sask———up $ 0.10 at $ 24.45
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)