Canadian Financial Close: Loonie, TSX fall in reaction to U.S. inflation data

Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar fell sharply after the release of inflation data in the United States.

The loonie closed at US$0.7377 or US$1=C$1.3556, compared to US$0.7435 or US$1=C$1.3450 on Monday.

The U.S. Dollar Index jumped 0.71 of a point at 104.12 after the Labor Department reported that the country’s consumer price index increased by 0.3 per cent in January, potentially delaying interest rate cuts.

Crude oil prices were up on Tuesday. Brent crude oil added US$0.57 at US$82.57 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose US$0.82 at US$77.74/barrel.

Compared to other stock indexes, the TSX/S&P Composite Index was one of the hardest hit by the U.S. inflation news, falling by 482.33 points at 20,584.97 and losing 2.29 per cent of its value during the day.

Gold fell US$27.30 at US$2,005.70 per ounce.

Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:

Buhler Ind.                      up  $ 0.02     at $  2.21

Farmer’s Edge Inc.               up  $ 0.005    at $  0.35

Linamar Corp.                    dn  $ 1.20     at $ 65.50

Maple Leaf Foods                 dn  $ 0.03     at $ 26.00

Nutrien Ltd.                     dn  $ 1.07     at $ 66.23

RB Global Inc.                   dn  $ 1.59     at $ 90.10

(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)