Canadian Financial Close: Loonie loses almost a third of a cent
Greenback up, crude oil down
Compiled by MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, April 19 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar dropped back on Wednesday, due to gains in the United States dollar and declines in crude oil prices.
The Canadian dollar closed at US$0.7438 or US$1=C$1.3445, compared to Tuesday’s close of US$0.7470 or US$1=C$1.3387. On the U.S. Dollar Index, the greenback added 0.217 of a point at 101.665.
Benchmark crude oil prices were lower on Wednesday, as concerns over a coming recession continued to weaken demand.
Brent crude oil gave up US$1.78 at US$82.99 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) retreated US$1.77 at US$79.09/barrel.
Statistics Canada reported that the Industrial Product Price Index nudged up 0.1 per cent in March, but it was down 1.8 per cent from the previous March. Also, the Raw Materials Price Index contracted 1.7 per cent in March and down 16.5 per cent from a year ago.
Trading on the TSX Composite Index was relatively flat on Wednesday with a slight loss of 3.85 points at 20,680.83 at the close.
Gold lost US$12.90 at US$2,006.80 per ounce.
Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:
Buhler Industries up $ 0.10 at $ 2.38 Farmers Edge Inc. unchanged at $ 0.20 Linamar Corp. dn $ 0.61 at $ 65.53 Maple Leaf Foods up $ 0.34 at $ 27.44 Nutrien Ltd. dn $ 0.58 at $ 98.42 Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc. dn $ 0.40 at $ 78.74
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
