Canadian Financial Close: C$ steady

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar held near unchanged on Friday, lacking any clear direction as investors adjusted positions ahead of the weekend.

The Canadian dollar settled at US$0.7272 or US$1=C$1.3751 on Friday, which compares with Thursday’s close of US$0.7275 or US$1=C$1.3746.

Manufacturing sales in Canada were up by 1.1 per cent in April, hitting C$70.8 billion, according to a report from Statistics Canada. The increase came after a 1.8 per cent decline the previous month.

StatCan also reported wholesale sales grew by 2.5 per cent in April, at C$83.3 billion, with increases in five of the seven subsectors. Sales were up by 3.4 per cent compared to the same month the previous year.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was slightly softer, down by 0.28 per cent at US$78.40 per barrel.

The TSX Composite Index lost 59.01 points to close at 21,639.10 points.

Canada’s agricultural sector performed as follows:

Buhler Ind.———————-    $ 0.00    at $  2.05

Linamar Corp.——————–dn  $ 1.34    at $ 67.15

Maple Leaf Foods—————–    $ 0.00    at $ 23.10

Nutrien Ltd.———————dn  $ 0.14    at $ 70.32

RB Global Inc.——————-up  $ 0.08    at $109.75

Farmers Edge Inc.—————-    $ 0.00    at $  0.345

(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)