By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, December 16 – The Canadian dollar ended lower relative to its US counterpart on Wednesday, as lower oil prices and an interest rate hike in the US dragged on the loonie. The US Fed unanimously voted to raise the U.S. central bank’s short-term policy rate by a quarter percentage point, to between 0.25% and 0.5%.
The Canadian dollar closed at US$0.7254 or US$1 = C$1.3785.
The TSX chalked up big gains Wednesday after the rate hike was announced. Gold stocks followed bullion prices higher.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 246.43 points, or 1.91%, to 13,166.08.
Canada’s agricultural sector faired as follows:
AGT Food and Ingredients—–up $ 0.77 at $ 31.74
Agrium Incorporated———-up $ 1.84 at $130.28
Buhler Industries————– $ 0.00 at $ 5.44
Maple Leaf Foods————-up $ 0.79 at $ 22.84
Potash Corp. of Sask———up $ 0.82 at $ 24.60
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
