By MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, Feb. 17 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar was slightly weaker relative to its United States counterpart on Wednesday, as the currency markets reacted to better-than-expected U.S. retail sales.
The Canadian dollar closed at US$0.7867 or US$1=C$1.2712, which compares with Tuesday’s North American close US$0.7884 or US$1=C$1.2684.
U.S. retail sales were up by a surprising 5.9 per cent in January, beating expectations after two months of declines.
The cold snap across the U.S. remained supportive for crude oil on Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate up by 2.56 per cent, at US$61.59 per barrel.
The TSX Composite Index was weaker on the day, losing 117.94 points, or 0.64 per cent, to close at 18,374.78 points.
Canada’s agricultural sector performed as follows:
Buhler Industries—————-up $ 0.15 at $ 2.90
Linamar Corp.——————–up $ 0.28 at $ 69.95
Maple Leaf Foods—————–dn $ 0.14 at $ 24.22
Nutrien Ltd.———————dn $ 0.90 at $ 70.90
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc.—-up $ 0.04 at $ 72.91
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
