Canadian Financial Close: Loonie gets stronger on Thursday

The Canadian dollar was higher on Thursday despite disappointing economic news from Statistics Canada (StatCan).

The loonie closed at US$0.7300 or US$1=C$1.3698, compared to US$0.7268 or US$1=C$1.3759 on Wednesday. StatCan reported this morning that Canada had a C$2.28 billion trade deficit in March, the largest since June, despite estimates of a surplus of more than C$1 billion.

The United States Dollar Index declined 0.41 of a point at 105.34.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices were narrowly mixed. Brent crude oil gained US$0.19 at US$83.63 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined US$0.04 at US$78.96/barrel.

The TSX/S&P Composite Index advanced 94.67 points at 21,823.22.

Gold was up US$0.60 at US$2,311.60 per ounce.

Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:

Buhler Ind.                      unchanged      at $  2.23

Farmer’s Edge Inc.               unchanged      at $  0.345

Linamar Corp.                    up  $ 0.14     at $ 64.45

Maple Leaf Foods                 dn  $ 0.95     at $ 21.39

Nutrien Ltd.                     dn  $ 0.26     at $ 71.96

RB Global Inc.                   dn  $ 0.88     at $ 97.35

(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)