Canadian Financial Close: Loonie rises on positive employment data

WINNIPEG – The Canadian dollar made more gains on Thursday after the release of encouraging employment data from Statistics Canada.

The loonie was at US$0.7903 or US$1=C$1.2654 on Thursday, up from Wednesday’s close of US$0.7888 or US$1=C$1.2677. Statistics Canada announced on Thursday that Canadian payroll employment rose by 91,100 jobs in September, the fourth straight monthly increase.

The United States Dollar Index decreased 0.09 of a point to 96.79. U.S. markets were closed due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Benchmark crude oil prices continued to ease off on Thursday. Brent crude oil declined three cents per barrel to US$82.22. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil retreated US$0.36 to US$78.03/barrel. Western Canadian Select (WCS) crude oil was unchanged at US$58.54/barrel.

The TSX/S&P Composite Index gained 64.75 points to 21,613.18.

Gold advanced US$3.90 per ounce to US$1,790.80.

Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:

Buhler Industries unchanged at $ 3.12
Farmer’s Edge Inc. up $ 0.06 at $ 3.50
Linamar Corp. dn $ 0.15 at $ 77.53
Maple Leaf Foods up $ 0.01 at $ 29.83
Nutrien Ltd. up $ 0.53 at $ 88.81
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc. dn $ 0.14 at $ 89.00

(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)