Canadian Financial Close: Loonie loses ground

Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar eased off to end the week.

The loonie closed at US$0.6924 or US$1=C$1.4442 on Friday, down from US$0.6936 or US$1=C$1.4418 on Thursday and hitting another new multi-year low. However, the United States Dollar Index retreated 0.47 of a point at 108.93.

Crude oil continued to move higher on Friday. Brent crude oil added US$0.62 at US$76.55 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate rose US$0.89 at US$74.02/barrel.

The TSX/S&P Composite Index surged 175.51 points at 25,073.54, after hitting a 52-week high of 25,086.04 earlier in the day.

Gold declined $18.10 per ounce at US$2,650.90.

Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:

Buhler Ind.                      dn $ 0.05      at $  3.10

Farmer’s Edge Inc.               unchanged      at $  0.345

Linamar Corp.                    up  $ 0.37     at $ 56.66

Maple Leaf Foods                 up  $ 0.14     at $ 20.50

Nutrien Ltd.                     up  $ 2.38     at $ 67.65

RB Global Inc.                   up  $ 3.03     at $133.20

(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)