By Glen Hallick
Glacier Farm Media | MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar closed above 71 U.S. cents on Friday, spurred on by a decline in the United States dollar and increases in crude oil.
The loonie closed at US$0.7111 or US$1=C$1.4063 compared to Thursday’s close of US$0.7084 or US$1=C$1.4116. On the U.S. Dollar Index, the greenback slipped 0.175 of a point at 99.410.
Benchmark crude oil prices rose modestly Friday on hopes that Hungary can use Russian oil and on a possible U.S. strike on Venezuela.
West Texas Intermediate added 43 cents at US$59.86 and Brent crude climbed 36 cents at US$63.74 per barrel.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said trade talks with the U.S. will resume “at some point.” Also, Carney’s minority government survived a second confidence motion on its recent budget.
The TSX Composite Index recovered from a poor start on Friday to close higher by 43.60 points at 29,912.19.
Gold gained US$20.20 at US$4,011.20 per ounce.
