WINNIPEG – The Canadian dollar made its way above the 80 cent United States mark on Wednesday, hours before the Bank of Canada makes its key interest rate announcement.
As of 8:45 a.m. CDT, the loonie was at US$0.8030 or US$1=C$1.2453, compared to US$0.7991 or US$1=C$1.2514 when markets closed on Tuesday.
Crude oil was steady to lower on Wednesday as a tentative deal over oil output between the United Arab Emirates and OPEC+ was reported earlier today. Brent crude lost two cents per barrel to US$76.47. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slipped back seven cents to US$75.18/barrel. Western Canadian Select (WCS) retreated US$0.23 to US$61.92/barrel.
The TSX/S&P Composite Index gained 37.57 points at 20,270.65.
Gold jumped US$16.85 per ounce to US$1,824.61, amid speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve will begin to taper off bond purchases this year.
