Canadian Financial Close: Trudeau at heart of loonie’s losses
Slight movements n greenback, crude oil underpin loonie
By Glen Hallick
Glacier Farm Media | MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar slipped on Friday due to ongoing concerns about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership. Trading in the loonie resumed today following Christmas and Boxing Day.
The loonie closed Friday at US$0.6937 or US$1=1.4416, compared to Tuesday’s finish of US$0.6951 or US$1=1.4386. On the U.S. Dollar Index, the greenback dipped 0.093 of a point at 107.800.
Although Trudeau sent his finance and foreign affairs ministers to Florida to discuss tariffs with top officials for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, questions kept swirling as to whether the PM will be able to sustain his minority government or his hold on to the Liberal Party’s leadership.
Benchmark crude oil prices edged higher on Friday following a 4.2 million-barrel decline on U.S. stockpiles, far exceeding projections of a 1.9 million-barrel draw.
Brent crude oil added 54 cents at US$73.80 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate rose 61 cents at US$70.23.
The TSX Composite Index stepped back 50.42 points to close Friday at 24,796.40.
Gold lost US$20.80 at US$2,633.10 per ounce.
Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:
Buhler Industries dn $ 0.07 at $ 2.88 Farmers Edge Inc. unchanged at $ 0.345 Linamar Corp. dn $ 0.18 at $ 57.11 Maple Leaf Foods dn $ 0.19 at $ 20.12 Nutrien Ltd. dn $ 0.02 at $ 63.93 RB Global Inc. up $ 0.33 at $130.94
(All figures are in Canadian dollars)
