By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, May 11 – The Canadian dollar slumped against its
US counterpart on Thursday, after six Canadian banks had their
credit ratings downgraded by Moody’s Investor Services.
Concerns over the sky-rocketing cost of housing in Canadian
cities were cited as a main factor behind the decline.
The Canadian dollar closed at US$0.7296 or C$1.3672,
compared to Wednesday’s close of US$0.7314 or C$1.3672.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index finished lower, as financial
groups were pressured by the ratings downgrade.
The National Bank of Canada was especially hurt by the
move, falling 2.2%.
Over in the energy sector, traders took profits in the wake
of recent gains.
On the other side of the market, the materials sector rose
1.3%. Kinross Gold improved by 5.1%.
The index dropped by 82.66 points, or 0.5%, to 15,550.55.
Canada’s agricultural sector performed as follows:
AGT Food and Ingredients—–dn $ 0.54 at $ 25.14
Agrium Incorporated———-dn $ 0.58 at $124.79
Buhler Industries————– $ 0.00 at $ 4.51
Maple Leaf Foods————-dn $ 0.37 at $ 33.53
Potash Corp. of Sask———dn $ 0.14 at $ 22.39
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
