By Commodity News Service Canada
June 28 – On the heels of comments made by Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz, financial analysts are now saying the chances are good that the bank will hike its overnight interest rate for the first time in seven years.
Poloz said in an interview yesterday that low interest rates have accomplished their job and the Canadian economy has stabilized.
Most analysts believed the increase would be a quarter of a percentage point and it would be announced July 12 at the bank’s next rate-setting meeting.
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The Canadian dollar closed at 76.57 cents U.S. or C$1.3060 per US$1, compared to yesterday’s close of 75.83 cents U.S. or C$1.3188 per US$1. That marks a four-month high.
WTI crude ended the day at US$44.83, a gain of 59 cents U.S., or a 1.33 per cent increase.
It was also a positive day at the Toronto Stock Exchange. The TSX/S&P index hit 15,355.58, a gain of 74.36 points, or .49 per cent.
The U.S. financial sector posted strong gains in trading today. The top performing sectors in the S&P 500 were financials, driven by expectations that major banks would get approval to pay higher dividends or repurchase stock.
The U.S. Federal Reserve, which monitors the banks, released analysis based on its so-called stress test reviews. The tests are designed to show how banks might fare in a financial crisis.
Canada’s agricultural sector performed as follows:
AGT Food and Ingredients—–dn $ 0.96 at $ 22.19
Agrium Incorporated———-dn $ 2.53 at $118.88
Buhler Industries————up $ 0.01 at $ 4.23
Maple Leaf Foods————-up $ 0.01 at $ 32.68
Potash Corp. of Sask———dn $ 0.38 at $ 21.29
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
