WINNIPEG – Days before a potential key interest rate hike by the Bank of Canada, the Canadian dollar ended the week below the 80 United States cents mark.
The loonie was at US$0.7971 or US$1=C$1.2545 on Friday, down from Thursday’s close of US$0.8017 or US$1=C$1.2474. Many analysts expect the BoC to raise its key interest rate in an effort to alleviate rising inflation. Meanwhile, Statistics Canada reported on Friday that retail sales last November increased 0.7 per cent from the previous month to C$58.1 billion, but also estimates a 2.1 per cent decline last December.
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The U.S. Dollar Index slipped 0.10 of a point to 95.63.
Benchmark crude oil prices were down on Friday after hitting a seven-year high earlier in the week. Brent crude oil retreated US$0.66 per barrel to US$87.72. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil slipped US$0.75 to US$84.80/barrel. Western Canadian Select (WCS) crude oil dropped US$0.84 at US$70.75/barrel.
Trepidation over BoC’s potential interest rate hike and a large selloff in stocks sunk the TSX/S&P Composite Index, which plunged 436.79 points to 20,621.39.
Gold fell US$10.90 per ounce to US$1,831.70.
Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:
Buhler Industries unchanged at $ 3.07
Farmer’s Edge Inc. dn $ 0.03 at $ 2.91
Linamar Corp. dn $ 1.70 at $ 69.54
Maple Leaf Foods dn $ 0.06 at $ 29.05
Nutrien Ltd. dn $ 0.93 at $ 89.17
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
