By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, January 17 (CNS) – The Canadian dollar finished
relatively flat against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday. The
loonie had trended lower after the Bank of Canada raised
interest rates earlier in the day but managed to recover by the
close.
The BoC raised interest rates by a quarter to 1.25 per
cent. The move was widely expected and viewed as mildly dovish
by some analysts.
Gains in crude oil were supportive for the loonie. The
February contract of light sweet crude oil on the New York
Mercantile Exchange rose 35 cents to US$64.08 per gallon.
Advances in natural gas and gold prices were bullish.
The Canadian dollar settled on Wednesday at US$0.8048 cents
or C$1.2419, compared to Tuesday’s North American close of
US$0.8052 or C$1.2419.
The S&P/TSX composite index finished higher, rising 27.82
points or 0.17 percent to 16,326.70.
Canada’s agricultural sector performed as follows:
AGT Food and Ingredients—–up $ 0.28 at $ 22.26
Buhler Industries————– $ 0.00 at $ 4.50
Maple Leaf Foods————-up $ 0.33 at $ 34.75
Nutrien Ltd.—————–dn $ 0.54 at $ 65.96
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
