Canadian Financial Close: C$ weakens Thursday

By MarketsFarm

WINNIPEG, Oct. 19 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar was weaker on Thursday, hitting a fresh two-week low relative to its United States counterpart despite continued strength in crude oil.

The Canadian dollar settled at US$0.7291 or US$1=C$1.3715 on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday’s close of US$0.7307 or US$1=C$1.3685.

There were 448,000 Canadians receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits in August, which was up by 2.1 per cent from the previous month, according to a report from Statistics Canada. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.5 per cent.

Canada’s Industrial Product Price Index was up by 0.4 per cent in September compared to the previous month, taking the annual increase to 0.6 per cent, StatCan reported. The country’s Raw Materials Price Index was up by 3.5 per cent on the month an 2.4 per cent annually.

Crude oil was underpinned by the ongoing unrest in the Middle East, with West Texas Intermediate up by 2.56 per cent at US$90.58 per barrel.

The TSX Composite Index was weaker, losing 101.89 points to close at 19,348.81 points.

Canada’s agricultural sector performed as follows:

Buhler Ind.———————-dn  $ 0.17    at $  2.34

Linamar Corp.——————–dn  $ 0.71    at $ 63.00

Maple Leaf Foods—————–up  $ 0.09    at $ 24.61

Nutrien Ltd.———————dn  $ 0.61    at $ 83.48

Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc.—-dn  $ 1.13    at $ 87.70

Farmers Edge Inc.—————-up  $ 0.00    at $  0.14

(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)