Canadian Dollar and Business Outlook: Lower manufacturing sales pulls down loonie

By MarketsFarm

WINNIPEG, May 14 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar fell under 71 U.S. cents Thursday following a grim Statistics Canada report on manufacturing sales.

As of 8:57 CDT, the Canadian dollar was at US$0.7074 or C$1.4135, compared to Wednesday’s close of US$0.7106 or C$1.4073.

Manufacturing sales in Canada plunged 9.2 per cent in March, according to Statistics Canada. The COVID-19 pandemic was said to be the reason for biggest decline in 11 years. A poll of economic analysts by Reuters predicted a drop of 5.7 per cent.

Benchmark crude oil prices were higher Thursday morning as stocks in the United States dropped. The Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday that inventories dropped by 745,000 barrels to 531.5 million for the week ended May 8. Added to that, OPEC revised its forecast of global demand, now expecting it to plummet by 9.07 million barrels per day in 2020 from its previous projection of 6.85 million.

Brent crude oil gained US$1.02 cents at US$30.21 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was rose 80 cents at US$26.09 per barrel. Western Canadian Select (WCS) was up 72 cents at US$21.88 per barrel.

At the opening, the TSX/S&P Composite Index sank 210.10 points at 14,293.11.

Gold was up US$13.09 at US$1,726.37 per ounce.

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