WINNIPEG, Feb. 18 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar was mostly steady on Thursday morning with gains from rising oil prices cancelled out by newly-released data revealing an increase in both housing prices in Canada and jobless claims stateside in January.
As of 8:30 a.m. CST, the Canadian dollar was at US$0.7876 or US$1=C$1.2693, compared to Wednesday’s close of US$0.7867 or US$1=C$1.2712.
Benchmark oil prices continued their rise as it will take days for refineries and oilfields to resume normal operations after extreme cold weather hit North America this week.
Brent crude oil moved upwards by US$0.34 to US$64.68 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) jumped US$0.44 at US$61.58. Western Canadian Select (WCS) crossed the US$50 mark, inching up by US$0.18 at US$50.06/barrel.
The TSX/S&P Composite Index fell by 117.94 to 18,374.78 due in part to this morning’s news.
Gold rose by US$7.91 at US$1,784.04 per ounce.
