By MarketsFarm

WINNIPEG, Aug. 9 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar gained on Friday, due to supportive crude oil values.

The dollar finished the day at US$0.7564 or US$1=C$1.3221, which compares with Wednesday’s close of US$0.7543 or US$1=C$1.3257.

Global equities finished in the red today due to continued moves in the trade war between the U.S. and China. On Friday, The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) set the yuan’s daily fixing at 7.0136 per U.S. dollar. That’s the second time this week that the yuan was weaker than seven, which sent markets plummeting earlier in the week.

The TSX Composite Index closed lower by 63.19 points at 16,341.34. The S&P 500 lost 11.19 to close at 2,926.90. Similarly, the Dow Jones lost 20.16 points to finish at 26,358.03. The NASDAQ was down 56.64 to finish at 7,982.52.

Benchmark oil prices were higher heading into the weekend due to a drop in European inventories. The International Energy Agency reported demand growth is at its lowest in over a decade, which kept a lid on further gains. Brent crude oil was up by US$1.42 to close at US$57.65 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil gained US$1.66 to close at US$52.75 per barrel.

Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:

Buhler Industries unch at $ 2.80
Linamar Corp. dn $ 3.34 at $ 37.92
Maple Leaf Foods dn $ 0.09 at $ 33.43
Nutrien Ltd. dn $ 0.13 at $ 69.57
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc. up $ 2.24 at $ 49.24
Rocky Mountain Dealerships Inc. dn $ 0.07 at $ 7.05

(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)

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