By MarketsFarm

WINNIPEG, July 8 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar lost a tenth of a cent on Thursday after it broke above 74 U.S. cents earlier in the day.

The loonie finished at US$0.7377 or US$1=C$1.3555, compared to Wednesday when it closed at US$0.7387 or US$1=C$1.3538.
Growing concerns about the surge of reported cases of COVID-19 in the United States has plagued the markets. The U.S. is now closing in on 3.1 million cases, according to Johns Hopkins University. Fears are the pandemic will hurt the U.S economy and by extension, the Canadian economy.

The TSX Composite Index was down 60.55 points on Thursday, to close at 15,568.64.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones fell 361.19 points to close at 25,706.09. The S&P 500 slipped 17.89 points at 3,152.05, but the NASDAQ nudged up 55.25 to end the day at 10.547.75.

Benchmark crude oil prices were fell to their lowest levels in a week due the U.S. COVID-19 surge.

Brent crude oil lost 97 cents at US$42.32 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil dropped US$1.37 at US$39.53 per barrel. Western Canadian Select (WCS) fell US$2.17 at US$31.08 per barrel.

Gold was down US$5.22 at US$1,803.67 per ounce.

Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:

Buhler Industries unchanged at $ 2.47
Linamar Corp. dn $ 0.36 at $ 36.83
Maple Leaf Foods dn $ 0.41 at $ 27.71
Nutrien Ltd. dn $ 0.43 at $ 42.50
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc. up $ 0.30 at $ 56.04
Rocky Mountain Dealerships Inc. dn $ 0.04 at $ 4.19

(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)