WINNIPEG – The Canadian dollar went down on Thursday amid rising consumer prices in the United States.

As of 8:38 a.m. CDT, the loonie was at US$0.8260 or US$1=C$1.2107 on Thursday, compared to US$0.8268 or US$1=C$1.2095 when markets closed on Wednesday. The U.S. Labor Department reported today that the country’s consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.6 per cent last month and year-by-year rose five per cent.

Crude oil prices continued to rally Thursday. Brent crude gained US$0.49 per barrel to US$72.71. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose US$0.37 to US$70.33/barrel. Western Canadian Select (WCS) jumped US$0.57 to US$56.54/barrel.

The TSX/S&P Composite Index advanced 37.86 points to 20,040.13.

Gold increased US$1.79 per ounce to US$1,890.36.