WINNIPEG – The Canadian dollar edged lower relative to its United States counterpart on Friday, as the latest retail sales data failed to live up to expectations.
The Canadian dollar settled at US$0.7569 or US$1=C$1.3212 on Friday, which compares with Thursday’s close of US$0.7592 or US$1=C$1.3171.
Retail sales in Canada were up by 0.2 per cent in May hitting C$66.0 billion, according to a report from Statistics Canada, with sales up in five of nine subsectors. Pre-report market expectations had been for a 0.5 per cent increase on the month.
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Canada’s new housing price index was up by 0.1 per cent in June compared to the previous month, although only four of the 27 census metropolitan areas saw increases. New home prices were down by 0.7 per cent compared to the same month the previous year.
West Texas Intermediate was up by 1.64 per cent at US$76.89 per barrel.
The TSX Composite Index was stronger, gaining 110.64 points or 0.54 per cent to close at 20,547.51 points.
Canada’s agricultural sector performed as follows:
Buhler Ind.———————-dn $ 0.10 at $ 2.10
Linamar Corp.——————–up $ 1.07 at $ 75.07
Maple Leaf Foods—————–up $ 0.09 at $ 27.25
Nutrien Ltd.———————up $ 0.29 at $ 84.95
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc.—-up $ 0.52 at $ 84.15
Farmers Edge Inc.—————-dn $ 0.02 at $ 0.195
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
