WINNIPEG – The Canadian dollar lost nearly half a United States cent on Friday hours after Statistics Canada released a negative jobs report.
The loonie was at US$0.7838 or US$1=C$1.2758 on Friday, down from Thursday’s close of US$0.7887 or US$1=C$1.2679. Canada’s central data agency announced that the country lost 200,100 jobs in January, breaking a seven-month string of gains.
The U.S. Dollar Index was up 0.08 of a point to 95.45. Meanwhile, the U.S. Labor Department reported today that 457,000 jobs were added to the American economy in January.
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Benchmark crude oil prices continued their rise on Friday amid tensions in Eastern Europe between Russia and Ukraine, as well as reduced oil production in the Permian Basin in Texas due to extreme cold. Brent crude oil rose US$1.99 per barrel to US$93.10. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil advanced US$1.91 to US$92.18/barrel. Western Canadian Select (WCS) crude oil surged US$1.88 at US$78.37/barrel.
The TSX/S&P Composite Index rebounded from yesterday’s losses, jumping 177.84 points to 21,271.85.
Gold moved up US$4.00 per ounce to US$1,808.10.
Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:
Buhler Ind. dn $ 0.05 at $ 3.01
Farmer’s Edge Inc. up $ 0.22 at $ 2.48
Linamar Corp. dn $ 0.14 at $ 69.52
Maple Leaf Foods dn $ 0.11 at $ 30.54
Nutrien Ltd. up $ 0.88 at $ 92.38
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc. dn $ 0.14 at $ 77.24
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
