By MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, March 31 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar was stronger on Wednesday, underpinned by solid gross domestic product data.
The country’s GDP was up by 0.7 per cent in January compared to the previous month, marking the ninth consecutive increase. However, total economic activity in the country was still down by about three per cent compared to February 2020.
The Canadian dollar closed at US$0.7952 or US$1=C$1.2575 on Thursday, which compares with Tuesday’s North American close US$0.7917 or US$1=C$1.2631.
Weakness in crude oil tempered the advances in the energy-linked Canadian currency.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down by 2.05 per cent at US$59.32 per barrel.
The TSX Composite Index held relatively steady, losing only 4.89 points, or 0.03 per cent, to close at 18,700.67 points.
Canada’s agricultural sector performed as follows:
Buhler Industries—————- $ 0.00 at $ 3.27
Linamar Corp.——————–dn $ 0.69 at $ 74.09
Maple Leaf Foods—————–up $ 0.10 at $ 28.65
Nutrien Ltd.———————dn $ 1.16 at $ 67.70
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc.—-up $ 0.13 at $ 73.58
Farmers Edge Inc.—————-up $ 0.11 at $ 18.00
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
