Canadian Financial Close: Loonie turns around to bump up
Greenback slips, crude oil rises
Compiled by MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, March 16 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar regained some lost ground on Thursday as there were small losses in the United States dollar and modest upticks in crude oil prices.
Added to that, the recent banking crisis cooled somewhat after troubled financial institution Credit Suisse was allowed to borrow up to US$54 billion from Switzerland’s central bank.
The loonie closed at US$0.7276 or US$1=C$1.3744, compared to Wednesday’s close of US$0.7258 or US$1=C$1.3778. The U.S. Dollar Index, as the greenback shed 0.161 of a point at 104.115.
Benchmark crude oil prices were higher on Thursday, in an attempt to recoup part of the losses incurred from the banking crisis in the United States and Europe.
Brent crude oil added US$1.07 at US$74.76 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) tacked on 76 cents at US$68.37. Western Canadian Select (WCS) nudged up nine cents at US$52.05.
At Thursday’s close, the TSX Composite Index gained 160.17 points, or 0.83 per cent, at 19,539.01.
Gold lost US$7.10 at US$1,924.20 per ounce.
Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:
Buhler Industries unchanged at $ 2.37 Farmers Edge Inc. dn $ 0.04 at $ 0.20 Linamar Corp. up $ 1.52 at $ 62.90 Maple Leaf Foods up $ 0.36 at $ 24.33 Nutrien Ltd. dn $ 0.70 at $ 99.68 Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc. up $ 1.25 at $ 73.99
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
