By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, December 15 – The Canadian dollar settled lower
on Thursday due to strength in the US dollar and disappointing
domestic manufacturing data.
Canadian factory shipments fell 0.8% in October, which was
the sector’s worst month-over-month performance in half a year.
The Canadian dollar closed at C$0.7492 or US$1.3347,
compared to Wednesday’s close of C$0.7534 or US$1=C$1.3274.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index eked out minor gains on
Thursday, as gains in the tech and banking sectors helped offset
steep losses in bullion.
The December gold contract on the New York Commodity
Exchange fell by nearly US$31 an ounce as investors turned to
higher-reward investments. Barrick fell 4.4% and Kinross
declined by 2.6%.
Blackberry led the tech group to a 0.5% gain.
The index advanced 21.13 points or 0.1% to 15,218.31.
Canada’s agricultural sector performed as follows:
AGT Food and Ingredients—–up $ 0.77 at $ 36.07
Agrium Incorporated———-up $ 1.31 at $136.00
Buhler Industries————– $ 0.00 at $ 4.50
Maple Leaf Foods————-up $ 0.22 at $ 27.98
Potash Corp. of Sask———up $ 0.19 at $ 24.58
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
