Canadian Financial Close: C$ weakens Thursday

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar was weaker on Thursday, as losses in crude oil and a reduced appetite for risk in global equity markets weighed on the currency.

The Canadian dollar settled at US$0.7298 or US$1=C$1.3702 on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday’s close of US$0.7313 or US$1=C$1.3674.

An estimated 470,000 Canadians received regular employment insurance benefits in March, which was up by only 0.1 per cent from February, according to a report from Statistics Canada. The country’s unemployment rate rose 0.3 point in March to hit 6.1 per cent.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down by 0.71 per cent at US$77.02 per barrel.

The TSX Composite Index lost 145.97 points to close at 22,200.79 points.

Canada’s agricultural sector performed as follows:

Buhler Ind.———————-    $ 0.00    at $  2.17

Linamar Corp.——————–dn  $ 1.92    at $ 69.10

Maple Leaf Foods—————–up  $ 0.10    at $ 23.29

Nutrien Ltd.———————dn  $ 1.29    at $ 81.31

RB Global Inc.——————-dn  $ 1.26    at $102.85

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

(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)