Canadian Financial Close: Loonie rises, crude oil retreats

WINNIPEG – The Canadian dollar made its way closer to the 75 United States cent mark on Thursday.

The loonie closed at US$0.7486 or US$1=C$1.3359, compared to US$0.7437 or US$1=C$1.3447 on Wednesday. The Bank of Canada (BoC) said on Wednesday it will leave its key interest rate unchanged at 4.5 per cent. However, the bank added in a statement that it will still consider raising the rate in the future in order to relieve inflation.

The U.S. Dollar Index dropped 0.49 of a point at 101.01.

Crude oil underwent a correction on Thursday despite shrinking U.S. inventories and increasing Chinese imports. Brent crude oil lost US$1.06 per barrel to US$86.27. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) retreated US$0.93 at US$82.33/barrel.

The TSX/S&P Composite Index advanced 110.17 points to close at 20,564.49.

Gold jumped US$29.70 at US$2,054.60 per ounce.

Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:

Buhler Ind.                      unchanged      at $  2.20

Farmer’s Edge Inc.               dn  $ 0.01     at $  0.215

Linamar Corp.                    up  $ 0.57     at $ 63.71

Maple Leaf Foods                 dn  $ 0.09     at $ 27.52

Nutrien Ltd.                     up  $ 0.16     at $ 97.24

Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc.    dn  $ 0.34     at $ 78.56

(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)