Canadian Financial Close: Loonie back below 80 cents U.S.

WINNIPEG, July 15 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar fell well below the 80 cents United States mark on Thursday.

The loonie was at US$0.7954 or US$1=C$1.2572 on Thursday, down from Wednesday’s close at US$0.8002 or US$1=C$1.24897. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index was up 0.17 points at 92.58 after the U.S. Labor Department announced that the weekly number of jobless claims totalled 360,000 for the week ending July 10, the lowest in 16 months.

Benchmark crude oil prices fell sharply for the second straight day amidst uncertainty in future output. Brent crude oil dropped US$1.47 per barrel to US$73.29. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil plunged US$1.59 to US$71.54/barrel. Western Canadian Select (WCS) crude oil retreated US$0.84 to US$58.74/barrel.

The TSX/S&P Composite Index gained 36.48 points to 20,183.72.

Gold increased US$1.88 per ounce to US$1,829.41.

Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:

Buhler Industries unchanged at $ 3.27
Farmer’s Edge Inc. dn $ 0.13 at $ 10.33
Linamar Corp. dn $ 0.03 at $ 73.13
Maple Leaf Foods up $ 0.18 at $ 24.97
Nutrien Ltd. up $ 0.18 at $ 77.11
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc. dn $ 0.16 at $ 74.02

(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)