Canadian Financial Close: C$ weakens Wednesday

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar was weaker on Wednesday, dipping back below the psychological 73 U.S. cents mark as soft retail sales data raised expectations that the Bank of Canada would begin cutting interest rates sometime in the next few months.

The Canadian dollar settled at US$0.7294 or US$1=C$1.3709 on Wednesday, which compares with Tuesday’s close of US$0.7314 or US$1=C$1.3673.

Retail sales in Canada dipped by 0.1 per cent in February compared to the previous month, coming in at C$66.7 billion, according to a report from Statistics Canada. Core retail sales were unchanged on the month.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 0.66 per cent at US$82.81 per barrel.

The TSX Composite Index was down by 138.00 points to close at 21,873.72 points.

Canada’s agricultural sector performed as follows:

Buhler Ind.———————-    $ 0.00    at $  2.24

Linamar Corp.——————–dn  $ 0.40    at $ 66.05

Maple Leaf Foods—————–dn  $ 0.06    at $ 24.21

Nutrien Ltd.———————up  $ 0.22    at $ 71.64

RB Global Inc.——————-up  $ 0.47    at $100.52

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

(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)