WINNIPEG – The Canadian dollar increased on Monday morning on the first day of trading since the Easter weekend due to a softer United States dollar.
As of 8:39 a.m. CDT, the loonie was at US$0.7980 or US$1=C$1.2531, compared to US$0.7959 or US$1=C$1.2565 when markets closed on Thursday.
Benchmark oil prices decreased on Monday due to OPEC+’s recent decision to increase oil output in May, as well as declining demand in India.
Brent crude oil lost US$1.27 per barrel to US$63.59. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped by US$1.22 to US$60.23/barrel. Western Canadian Select (WCS) retreated by US$0.98 at US$50.38/barrel.
Strong jobs data from the U.S. helped buoy the stock markets, as the TSX/S&P Composite Index gained 38.23 points to 19,028.55.
As the markets gained, gold dropped US$2.12 to US$1,726.75 per ounce.
