Canadian Financial Close: Retail numbers boost dollar

By Commodity News Service Canada

June 22 – The Canadian dollar made gains relative to its American counterpart today following news of strong April retail sales.

Canadian consumers posted retail sales of C$48.64 in April, a .8 per cent increase compared to March and higher than the .2 per cent increase predicted by analysts.

Oil prices also remained steady but continued to face oversupply pressures.

The Canadian dollar closed at 75.52 cents U.S., or C$1.3241 per US$1. Yesterday, the loonie closed at 75.13 or C$1.3310 per US$1.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 71.37 points, or .47 per cent to close at 15,219.90. The health care sector was a big gainer, rising 4.28 per cent. After a rocky ride earlier this week, the energy sector stabilized, rising .59 per cent.

In the U.S., the S&P 500 lost 1.11, or .05 per cent to close at 2,434.50. The Dow Jones Industrial fell 12.74 or .06 per cent to close at 21,397,29 and the Nasdaq gained 2.73 points (.04 per cent) to end the day at 6,236.69.

WTI crude oil closed slightly higher at US$42.73 per barrel, for a gain of 20 cents or .47 per cent.

Canada’s agricultural sector performed as follows:

AGT Food and Ingredients—–dn $ 0.22 at $ 23.88
Agrium Incorporated———-dn $ 0.22 at $122.14
Buhler Industries————– $ 0.00 at $ 4.22
Maple Leaf Foods————-up $ 0.19 at $ 32.89
Potash Corp. of Sask———up $ 0.01 at $ 21.86

(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)