By MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, March 31 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar was virtually unchanged on Friday morning, as upticks in the United States dollar effectively offset small gains in crude oil prices.
As of 8:34 am CDT, the loonie was at US$0.7392 or C$1.3529, compared to Thursday’s close of US$0.7389 or US$1=C$1.3533. On the U.S. Dollar Index, the greenback was up 0.204 of a point at 102.025.
Benchmark crude oil prices were slightly higher on Friday morning, as more oil production in Kurdistan was shut down due to a disagreement over exports between the regional government and the Iraqi government in Baghdad.
Brent crude oil bumped up 19 cents at US$79.46 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) added 50 cents at US$74.87.
Statistics Canada reported on Friday the country’s economy grew 0.5 per cent in January with projections of 0.3 per cent growth in February.
Shortly after Friday’s open the TSX/S&P Composite Index tacked on 118.51 at 20,059.50.
Gold nudged up 90 cents at US$1,998.60 per ounce.
