By MarketsFarm

WINNIPEG, March 30 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar was lower on Monday, due to struggling crude oil prices.

The dollar finished the day at US$0.7064 or US$1=C$1.4156, compared to Friday when it closed at US$0.7114 or US$1=C$1.4056.

Benchmark crude oil prices were down on Monday, hitting their lowest levels in 18 years. Reduced demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the Saudi-Russian oil price war has the market flooded with cheap crude.

Brent crude oil fell US$2.33 to close at US$22.60 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil lost US$1.30 at US$20.21 per barrel. Western Canadian Select (WCS) was down 80 cents at US$4.26 per barrel.

The TSX Composite Index was up 350.76 points to close at 13,038.50.

Gold was down US$5.91 at 1,622.24 per ounce.

Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:

Buhler Industries unchanged at $ 2.95
Linamar Corp. up $ 0.03 at $ 28.13
Maple Leaf Foods up $ 1.09 at $ 23.86
Nutrien Ltd. up $ 2.47 at $ 45.93
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc. up $ 1.10 at $ 47.18
Rocky Mountain Dealerships Inc. up $ 0.15 at $ 3.84

(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)