WINNIPEG – The Canadian dollar stepped back further from the 78 United States cent mark on Wednesday.
As of 8:35 a.m. CDT, the loonie was at US$0.7787 or US$1=C$1.2842, compared to US$0.7797 or US$1=C$1.2826 on Tuesday.
The U.S. Dollar Index gained 0.45 of a point to 102.31 as policy meeting minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to be released later today.
Crude oil prices were higher on Wednesday due to shrinking U.S. gasoline stockpiles and heightened demand during the coming Memorial Day weekend in the U.S. Brent crude oil increased US$0.83 per barrel to US$114.39. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose US$0.69 at US$110.46/barrel. Western Canadian Select (WCS) jumped US$0.57 to US$93.94/barrel.
The TSX/S&P Composite Index added 74.52 points to 20,360.72.
Gold fell US$14.00 per ounce to US$1,851.40.
