Canadian Financial Close: C$ weakens

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar weakened relative to its United States counterpart on Friday as jobs data out of the U.S. beat expectations.

The Canadian dollar settled at US$0.7433 or US$1=C$1.3454 on Friday, which compares with Thursday’s close of US$0.7460 or US$1=C$1.3404.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 353,000 jobs in January, according to a report from the Labor Department, with December data revised higher to 333,000 jobs. The employment growth was roughly double what economists had been predicting and was seen confirming ideas that the U.S. Federal Reserve would be unlikely to cut interest rates anytime soon.

Crude oil pressured lower by Chinese economic concerns and ports of potential ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas. West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down by 2.21 per cent at US$72.19 per barrel.

The TSX Composite Index was down by 34.12 points to close at 21,085.09 points.

Canada’s agricultural sector performed as follows:

Buhler Ind.———————-up  $ 0.08    at $  2.33

Linamar Corp.——————–up  $ 0.52    at $ 65.05

Maple Leaf Foods—————–up  $ 0.44    at $ 26.40

Nutrien Ltd.———————dn  $ 0.95    at $ 68.64

RB Global Inc.——————-dn  $ 0.46    at $ 86.47

Farmers Edge Inc.—————-    $ 0.00    at $  0.34

(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)