Canadian Financial Close: Surrounded by negativity, loonie gets away with a dip
Trump tariff threats pressure markets
The Canadian dollar slipped on Friday due to gains in its United States counterpart and sharp losses in crude oil.
The loonie closed Friday at US$0.7039 or US$1=C$1.4207, compared to Thursday’s finish of US$0.7048 or US$1=C$1.4188. On the U.S. Dollar Index, the greenback added 0.286 of a point at 106.555.
Benchmark crude oil prices were down hard on Friday as the Middle East premium faded with the Israeli-Hamas ceasefire agreement continuing to hold. However, increasingly strained relations between the U.S. and Ukraine added caution to the market.
Brent crude oil lost US$2.25 at US$74.23 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate gave up US$2.28 at US$70.20.
While Statistics Canada reported today that December retail sales were up 2.5 per cent, the agency noted those for January are poised for a 0.4 per cent decline.
Friday was a tough day on the North American stock markets as concerns ramped up over the Trump administration’s tariff plans. The TSX Composite Index dropped 367.05 points, or 1.33 per cent, to close Friday at 25,147.03. Also, the Dow Jones fell 1.69 per cent, the S&P500 lost 1.71 per cent and the Nasdaq plummeted 2.17 per cent.
Gold was down US$6.50 at US$2,949.60 per ounce.
Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:
Buhler Industries unchanged at $ 7.15 Farmers Edge Inc. unchanged at $ 0.345 Linamar Corp. dn $ 0.92 at $ 51.99 Maple Leaf Foods up $ 0.17 at $ 21.78 Nutrien Ltd. dn $ 0.48 at $ 74.82 RB Global Inc. dn $ 0.76 at $146.00
(All figures are in Canadian dollars)
