Canadian Financial Close: Crude oil, TSX lose large

The Canadian dollar dipped slightly on Friday to close the week.

The loonie closed at US$0.7216 or US$1=C$1.3858, compared to US$0.7222 or US$1=C$1.3846 on Thursday.

The United States Dollar Index fell 1.20 points at 103.22.

Crude oil prices sank on Friday due to demand concerns despite escalations in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) plunged US$2.30 at US$74.01 per barrel. Brent crude oil erased US$2.26 at US$77.26/barrel.

Fears over a possible recession hit stock markets hard. The TSX Composite Index lost 495.58 points or 2.18 per cent of its value at 22,227.63.

Gold was down US$0.70 at US$2,480.10 per ounce.

Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:

Buhler Ind.                      unchanged      at $  2.03

Farmer’s Edge Inc.               unchanged      at $  0.345

Linamar Corp.                    dn  $ 2.67     at $ 63.51

Maple Leaf Foods                 up  $ 0.02     at $ 25.62

Nutrien Ltd.                     dn  $ 2.81     at $ 66.42

RB Global Inc.                   dn  $ 1.79     at $103.76

(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)