By MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, June 19 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar held relatively steady on Friday, as support from rising crude oil prices was countered by soft retail sales data.
The Canadian dollar closed at US$0.7360 or US$1=C$1.3587, which compares with Thursday’s North American close of US$0.7359 or US$1=C$1.3589.
Canadian retail sales dropped by 26.4 per cent in April, hitting C$34.7 billion, according to a report from Statistics Canada. The decline beat average pre-report expectations closer to 15 per cent. While most sectors were down, online sales increased by 11 per cent during first full month of COVID-19 social distancing measures.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up by nearly two per cent on the day, at US$39.57 per barrel.
The TSX Composite Index was steady, losing only 5.63 points, or 0.04 per cent, to close at 15,474.20 points.
Canada’s agricultural sector performed as follows:
Buhler Industries—————- $ 0.00 at $ 2.51
Linamar Corp.——————–dn $ 0.12 at $ 38.15
Maple Leaf Foods—————–up $ 1.72 at $ 30.62
Nutrien Ltd.———————dn $ 0.67 at $ 48.62
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc.—-dn $ 0.86 at $ 54.10
Rocky Mountain Dealerships Inc.–up $ 0.02 at $ 4.55
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
