By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, Aug. 16 (CNS Canada) – The Canadian dollar strengthened relative to its US counterpart on Tuesday, as gains in crude oil and favourable economic data provided support.
Canadian factory sales were up by 0.8 per cent in June, according to Statistics Canada. The rise beat expectations and came after a 1.0 per cent decline the previous month.
Broad-based weakness in the US dollar internationally was also supportive for the Canadian currency.
The Canadian dollar closed at US$0.7780 or US$1=C$1.2853, which compares with Monday’s close of US$0.7742, or US$1=C$1.2917.
The TSX ended lower. The S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 73.58 points, or 0.50%, to close at 14,703.44.
Canada’s agricultural sector faired as follows:
AGT Food and Ingredients—–up $ 0.31 at $ 36.46
Agrium Incorporated———-dn $ 1.04 at $118.40
Buhler Industries————dn $ 0.10 at $ 4.80
Maple Leaf Foods————-dn $ 0.28 at $ 28.60
Potash Corp. of Sask———dn $ 0.56 at $ 21.14
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
