By MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, July 29 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar was sharply stronger on Thursday, hitting its highest levels in two weeks relative to its United States counterpart.
The Canadian dollar closed at US$0.8032 or US$1=C$1.2450 on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday’s North American close of US$0.7958 or US$1=C$1.2566.
Optimism in the Canadian economy, along with a somewhat dovish stance from the U.S. Federal Reserve in their interest rate announcement on Wednesday, contributed to the firm tone in the Canadian dollar.
Gains in crude oil were also supportive for the energy-linked Canadian currency. West Texas Intermediate was up by 1.41 per cent at US$73.41 per barrel.
The TSX Composite Index was stronger, up 81.38 points, or 0.40 per cent, to close at 20,311.78 points.
Canada’s agricultural sector performed as follows:
Buhler Industries—————- $ 0.00 at $ 3.08
Linamar Corp.——————–up $ 1.86 at $ 73.96
Maple Leaf Foods—————–up $ 0.05 at $ 24.76
Nutrien Ltd.———————up $ 0.10 at $ 74.64
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc.—-dn $ 0.05 at $ 74.20
Farmers Edge Inc.—————-dn $ 0.64 at $ 9.76
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
