By MarketsFarm

WINNIPEG, Feb. 22 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar was unchanged on Monday, despite a dip in the United States dollar and strong gains in crude oil.

The loonie finished at US$0.7928 or US$1=C$1.2613, compared to Friday’s close of US$0.7928 or US$1=C$1.2614.

On the U.S. Dollar Index, the greenback lost 0.273 at 90.090 points.

Benchmark crude oil prices were higher on Monday as oil production facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast have been slow in getting back to speed. It’s suspected the unusual cold snap may have caused damage to several of those facilities. In addition, shale oil production in the U.S. could take up to two weeks to fully resume its output.

Brent crude oil climbed US$2.34 at US$65.25 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil was up US$2.25 at US$61.49/barrel. Western Canadian Select (WCS) crude oil rose US$2.52 at US$49.95/barrel.

The TSX Composite Index was up 32.47 points on Monday to finish at 18,416.47.

Gold jumped US$30.10 at US$1,807.50 per ounce.

Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:

Buhler Industries dn $ 0.08 at $ 3.20
Linamar Corp. up $ 0.68 at $ 70.84
Maple Leaf Foods dn $ 0.17 at $ 23.93
Nutrien Ltd. dn $ 0.04 at $ 71.23
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc. dn $ 2.07 at $ 64.99
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)