By MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, March 18 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar was weaker on Wednesday, as it lost more than 1.5 cents to finish at its lowest level since 2003.
The dollar finished the day at US$0.6898 or US$1=C$1.4496, compared to Tuesday when it closed at US$0.7055 or US$1=C$1.4175.
This was in light of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing today a C$82 billion package to assist citizens and businesses through the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Saudi Arabia/Russia oil price war.
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Benchmark crude oil prices dropped on Wednesday to their lowest levels in 18 years. News that Saudi Arabia was determined to increase its production drove down values. The Saudis said they will ramp up its production by 4.5 million barrels per day (BPD) come April, despite grim forecasts of global demand falling by 8 million to 9 million BPD.
Brent crude oil fell US$2.61 to close at US$26.12 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil plummeted US$4.61 close at US$22.34 per barrel. Western Canadian Select sank US$3.11 to close at US$9.12 per barrel.
Yesterday’s gains on the TSX Composite Index were erased on Wednesday as it lost 963.46 points to close at 11,721.75.
The U.S. market endured a tough day as well, with the Dow Jones careening 1,333.61 points to finish at 19,903.77. The NASDAQ dropped 344.94 to close at 6,989.84 points. The S&P 500 lost 130.85 to end at 2,398.34 points.
Gold fell US$42.86 at 1,485.44 per ounce.
Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:
Buhler Industries unchanged at $ 2.85
Linamar Corp. dn $ 0.56 at $ 28.63
Maple Leaf Foods dn $ 0.78 at $ 21.72
Nutrien Ltd. dn $ 1.33 at $ 36.30
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc. dn $ 4.66 at $ 39.16
Rocky Mountain Dealerships Inc. dn $ 0.33 at $ 3.53
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
