Canadian Financial Close: Loonie down, crude oil falls after reserve release

WINNIPEG – The Canadian dollar took a step back on Thursday despite welcome economic news from Statistics Canada.

The loonie closed at US$0.8003 or US$1=C$1.2496, down from Wednesday’s close of US$0.8019 or US$1=C$1.2470. The federal data agency announced on Thursday the economy grew 0.2 per cent in January and estimates 0.8 per cent growth in February.

The United States Dollar Index was up 0.52 of a point at 98.32.

Crude oil prices plunged on Thursday after U.S. President Joe Biden announced the country will release one million barrels of oil per day from its reserves for six months in order to lower prices. Brent crude oil lost US$5.54 per barrel to US$107.91. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil dropped US$6.66 to US$101.16/barrel. Meanwhile, Western Canadian Select (WCS) fell US$6.86 to US$89.50.

The TSX/S&P Composite Index dived 185.80 points to 21,890.16.

Gold increased US$2.80 per ounce to US$1,941.80.

Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:

Buhler Ind. unchanged at $ 2.64
Farmer’s Edge Inc. up $ 0.01 at $ 3.18
Linamar Corp. dn $ 0.76 at $ 55.57
Maple Leaf Foods dn $ 0.09 at $ 30.00
Nutrien Ltd. up $ 1.81 at $129.22
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc. dn $ 0.28 at $ 73.84

(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)