Canadian Financial Close: Loonie falls despite stock market gains

By Commodity News Service Canada

WINNIPEG, Dec. 7 – The Canadian dollar fell slightly at
close Thursday, despite gains in the stock markets and price of
oil.

Oil prices climbed more than one per cent Thursday due to a
threatened strike in Nigeria and as traders covered shorts after
sharp losses the previous day brought on by an unexpectedly
large rise in United States stocks of refined fuels. Brent crude
futures rose 98 cents, or 1.6 per cent, to settle at US$62.20
per barrel.

Potash Corp of Saskatchewan’s Chief Executive Officer
Jochen Tilk met Thursday with authorities in Chile as the
Canadian fertilizer company tries to divest its minority stake
in Chilean lithium miner SQM ahead of its proposed merger with
rival Agrium Inc. Potash Corp’s move to sell its 32 per cent
stake in SQM, a condition regulators in India and China have set
for the Agrium merger, comes amid the Chilean miner’s ongoing
arbitration with its home country’s government.

The Canadian dollar settled Thursday at US$0.7786 or
C$1.2843, compared to Wednesday’s North America close of
US$0.7839 or C$1.2757.

In Toronto, the S&P/TSX Composite Index rose Thursday by
106.77, or 0.67 per cent, to 16,015.55.

Canada’s agricultural sector performed as follows:

AGT Food and Ingredients—–up $ 1.22 at $ 20.37
Agrium Incorporated———-up $ 2.35 at $136.18
Buhler Industries————unchanged at $ 4.60
Maple Leaf Foods————-dn $ 0.25 at $ 35.56
Potash Corp. of Sask———up $ 0.47 at $ 24.31

(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)