WINNIPEG – The Canadian dollar reversed direction on Friday, closing just shy of the 79 United States cent mark.
The loonie was at US$0.7895 or US$1=C$1.2666 on Friday, up from Thursday’s close of US$0.7849 or US$1=C$1.2741. On Friday, Statistics Canada announced that the country added 54,700 jobs in December, with the unemployment rate falling to 5.9 per cent, the lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The United States Dollar Index fell 0.57 of a point to 95.75. Unlike Canada’s job numbers, those in the U.S. were underwhelming. The Labor Department reported on Friday that 199,000 non-farm payrolls were added in December, half of what was expected. However, the unemployment rate declined to 3.9 per cent.
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Benchmark crude oil prices were lower on Friday. Brent crude oil slipped US$0.17 per barrel to US$81.82. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil lost US$0.50 to US$78.96/barrel. Western Canadian Select (WCS) crude oil fell US$1.47 at US$65.84/barrel.
The TSX/S&P Composite Index advanced 12.25 points to 21,084.45.
Gold added US$5.50 per ounce to US$1,794.70.
Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:
Buhler Industries up $ 0.04 at $ 3.29
Farmer’s Edge Inc. dn $ 0.03 at $ 3.14
Linamar Corp. dn $ 0.62 at $ 78.45
Maple Leaf Foods up $ 0.21 at $ 29.26
Nutrien Ltd. dn $ 0.67 at $ 87.47
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc. dn $ 1.78 at $ 75.57
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
