WINNIPEG – The Canadian dollar dropped below 78 United States cents on Wednesday while crude oil prices eased off.
As of 8:39 a.m. CDT, the loonie was at US$0.7790 or US$1=C$1.2837, compared to US$0.7814 or US$1=C$1.2797 on Tuesday. The U.S. Dollar Index gained 0.71 of a point at 103.02, reaching a level unseen since December 2002.
Russian energy company Gazprom announced on Wednesday it was cutting off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, believed to be in retaliations for sanctions against Russia. Brent crude oil declined US$1.20 per barrel to US$103.79. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) stepped back US$1.57 to US$100.13/barrel. Meanwhile, Western Canadian Select (WCS) fell US$2.29 to US$87.42/barrel.
The TSX/S&P Composite Index seemed to have reversed from its recent downturn, adding 67.62 points to 20,758.43.
Gold lost US$10.10 per ounce to US$1,894.00.
