By Phil Franz-Warkentin
Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar was softer on Friday, as currency markets reacted to the latest employment data.
The Canadian dollar settled at US$0.7335 or US$1=C$1.3633 on Friday, which compares with Thursday’s close of US$0.7346 or US$1=C$1.3613.
Canada’s unemployment rate moved up 0.2 percentage points in June, hitting 6.2 per cent, according to a report from Statistics Canada. Meanwhile, unemployment in the U.S. came hit a two-and-a-half year high of 4.1 per cent, despite adding 206,000 new jobs in June as more people entered the labour force, according to the U.S. Labor Department.
Crude oil was slightly weaker, with West Texas crude oil down by 0.70 per cent at US$83.29 per barrel.
The TSX Composite Index lost 184.99 points to close at 22,059.03 points.
Canada’s agricultural sector performed as follows:
Buhler Ind.———————- $ 0.00 at $ 2.02
Linamar Corp.——————–dn $ 1.74 at $ 65.14
Maple Leaf Foods—————–dn $ 0.40 at $ 22.46
Nutrien Ltd.———————dn $ 1.92 at $ 68.05
RB Global Inc.——————-up $ 0.31 at $104.91
Farmers Edge Inc.—————- $ 0.00 at $ 0.345
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
