By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, April 16 – The Canadian dollar was higher against its American counterpart Thursday morning, as Brent crude oil hit a high for 2015.
At 8:55 CDT Thursday morning, the loonie was up 0.0053 of a cent to US$0.8186 or US$1 = C$1.2219. Oil’s sudden rise boosted Brent crude to US$63 a barrel. There is increasing evidence that oil production in the US is peaking.
A new report suggests Newfoundland and Labrador is in need of a new financial plan due to overreliance on oil and gas. According to the Conference Board of Canada the province’s GDP and labour productivity is mediocre. The report says overreliance on mining and oil and gas projects exposes the province to price volatility.
Magna International has announced plans to sell part of its operations for US$525 million to an auto parts manufacturer in Spain.
On the commodity markets the May crude contract in New York faded US$0.64 to US$55.75 a barrel. The April gold contract rose $2.10 to US$1,203.40 an ounce.
At 8:55 CDT Thursday morning, the TSX was down 55.09 points to 15,395.78.
