WINNIPEG – The Canadian dollar changed very little to enter the weekend.
The loonie closed at US$0.7484 or US$1=C$1.3362 on Friday, compared to US$0.7486 or US$1=C$1.3359 on Thursday. Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported on Friday that manufacturing sales dropped 3.6 per cent to C$71.5 billion in February. Sales in motor vehicles as well as petroleum and coal products also went down.
The United States Dollar Index rose 0.55 of a point at 101.56.
Crude oil moved higher due to declining U.S. stockpiles, increasing Chinese imports and reduced flows from Russia. Brent crude oil added US$0.35 per barrel to US$86.44. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained US$0.49 at US$82.65/barrel.
The TSX/S&P Composite Index advanced 15.42 points to close at 20,579.91.
Gold lost Thursday’s gains, falling US$36.30 at US$2,019.00 per ounce.
Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:
Buhler Ind. unchanged at $ 2.20
Farmer’s Edge Inc. dn $ 0.005 at $ 0.205
Linamar Corp. up $ 1.44 at $ 65.15
Maple Leaf Foods dn $ 0.10 at $ 27.42
Nutrien Ltd. up $ 0.22 at $ 97.46
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc. up $ 0.10 at $ 78.66
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
