Canadian Financial Close: Loonie steady, crude oil falls

WINNIPEG – The Canadian dollar was left mostly unchanged on Thursday.

The loonie closed at US$0.7252 or US$1=C$1.3790, down from US$0.7254 or US$1=C$1.3785 on Wednesday. The Bank of Canada (BoC) said on Wednesday it will keep its key interest rate steady at 4.5 per cent.

The United States Dollar Index declined 0.39 of a point at 105.27.

Crude oil continued its downturn on Thursday despite a reduction in U.S. stockpiles. Brent crude oil dropped US$1.14 per barrel to US$81.52. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined US$1.12 at US$75.54/barrel. Western Canadian Select (WCS) fell US$1.16/barrel to US$59.53.

The TSX/S&P Composite Index lost 246.57 points to close at 20,099.96.

Gold rose US$16.90 at US$1,835.50 per ounce.

Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:

Buhler Ind.                      unchanged      at $  2.41

Farmer’s Edge Inc.               dn  $ 0.02     at $  0.24

Linamar Corp.                    dn  $10.58     at $ 66.48

Maple Leaf Foods                 dn  $ 3.92     at $ 23.99

Nutrien Ltd.                     dn  $ 3.13     at $108.97

Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc.    dn  $ 2.52     at $ 80.41

(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)