By Glen Hallick
Glacier FarmMedia – The Canadian dollar pushed above 74 U.S. cents on Thursday morning, on spillover from crude oil.
As of 8:36 am CST, the loonie was at US$0.7403 or US$1=C$1.3508, compared to Wednesday’s close of US$0.7369 or US$1=C$1.3571.
On the U.S. Dollar Index, the greenback lost 0.239 of a point at 96.035.
Benchmark crude oil prices were sharply higher on Thursday morning, hitting four-month highs on rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
West Texas Intermediate climbed US$3.07 at US$66.28 per barrel and Brent crude advanced US$3.29 at US$71.69.
Statistics Canada reported the country’s November international merchandise trade dropped 2.8 per cent from October at a deficit of C$2.2 billion. November’s international trade in services fell to an C$11 million surplus from C$400 million in October.
In morning activity, the TSX/S&P Composite Index increased 193.61 points to a record 33,369.68.
Gold also continued to soar to new heights, with a gain of US$233.80 at US$5,570.00 per ounce.
