WINNIPEG – The Canadian dollar made a slight gain on Tuesday on the strength of welcome retail sales data and increased natural gas demand in Europe.
As of 8:38 a.m. CST, the loonie was at US$0.7737 or US$1=C$1.2925, compared to Monday’s close of US$0.7727 or US$1=C$1.2942. Statistics Canada reported on Tuesday that retailers sold 1.2 per cent more goods in November than in the previous month.
The United States Dollar Index slipped back 0.07 of a point to 96.48.
Benchmark crude oil prices rebounded on Tuesday as investors re-assessed demand and considered the possibility of low natural gas reserves in Europe. Brent crude oil jumped US$1.77 per barrel to US$73.29. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) surged US$1.83 to US$70.44/barrel. Western Canadian Select (WCS) advanced US$1.54 to US$55.53/barrel.
The TSX/S&P Composite Index regained most of Monday’s losses, gaining 217.63 points to 20,755.85.
Gold was mostly steady, increasing US$0.20 per ounce to US$1,794.80.
