Canadian Financial Close: Loonie hits highest point in five months

Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar reached its highest value since March on Monday.

The loonie closed at US$0.7418 or US$1=C$1.3481, compared to US$0.7392 or US$1=C$1.3529 on Friday.

Meanwhile, the United States Dollar Index is up 0.17 of a point at 100.89.

Crude oil prices jumped after Iranian militant group Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel, with the latter retaliating with strikes at Lebanon on the weekend. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) surged US$2.18 at US$77.01 per barrel. Brent crude oil gained US$2.12 at US$81.14/barrel.

The TSX Composite Index added 62.89 points at 23,348.97.

Gold increased US$7.60 at US$2,553.90 per ounce.

Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:

Buhler Ind.                      unchanged      at $  2.45

Farmer’s Edge Inc.               unchanged      at $  0.345

Linamar Corp.                    up  $ 0.78     at $ 64.05

Maple Leaf Foods                 up  $ 0.02     at $ 23.10

Nutrien Ltd.                     up  $ 0.36     at $ 65.55

RB Global Inc.                   up  $ 1.11     at $116.95

(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)