By MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, March 29 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar was up Friday morning as crude oil prices were on the rise.
At 8:42 CDT Friday morning the Canadian dollar was at US$0.7482 or C$1.3362, which compares with Thursday’s North American close of US$0.7447 or C$1.3429.
Benchmark crude oil prices were up on Friday morning due to OPEC-led supply cuts plus U.S. sanctions against Iran and Venezuela.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up US$1.10 at US$60.40 per barrel Friday morning. Brent crude oil gained 90 cents to US$68.72 per barrel.
The TSX/S&P Composite Index was also benefitting from increasing oil prices. The TSX rose 32.87 points Friday morning at 16,188.36 points.
The Canadian economy grew by 0.3 per cent in January, according to Statistics Canada. The growth ended two months of the country’s economy shrinking. Leading the way were the construction sector and non-durable manufacturing, each with 1.9 per cent growth.
Gold was up US$6.80 on Friday morning at US$1,299.30 per ounce.
