WINNIPEG – The Canadian dollar was lower on Thursday after the release of mixed economic data from Statistics Canada.
As of 8:53 a.m. CDT, the loonie was at US$0.7750 or US$1=C$1.2903, compared to US$0.7765 or US$1=C$1.2878 on Wednesday. Canada’s central data agency reported on Thursday that the national economy expanded by 0.3 per cent in April, but preliminary estimates suggest it contracted by 0.2 per cent in May.
The United States Dollar Index was up 0.09 of a point at 105.19.
Recession fears and OPEC+’s expectation it will approve a production increase set for August put pressure on crude oil prices on Thursday. Brent crude oil dropped US$1.31 per barrel to US$114.95. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) lost US$1.59 at US$108.19/barrel. Western Canadian Select (WCS) was down US$0.58 to US$90.91/barrel.
Those recession fears also took a toll on the TSX/S&P Composite Index on Thursday, losing 366.24 points to 18,712.40.
Gold is up US$0.70 per ounce to US$1,818.20.
