By MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, May 18 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar softened slightly relative to its United States counterpart on Thursday, as ideas that the U.S. government would raise its debt ceiling were supportive for that country’s currency.
The Canadian dollar settled at US$0.7407 or US$1=C$1.3500 on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday’s close of US$0.7428 or US$1=C$1.3463.
Canada’s new housing price index was down by 0.1 per cent in April compared to the previous month, with prices steady or lower in 20 of the 27 census metropolitan areas surveyed, according to a report from Statistics Canada.
Crude oil was weaker, with West Texas Intermediate down by 1.1 per cent at US$72.00 per barrel.
The TSX Composite Index held near unchanged, rising by less than a point to close at 20,297.09 points.
Canada’s agricultural sector performed as follows:
Buhler Ind.———————- $ 0.00 at $ 2.15
Linamar Corp.——————–dn $ 0.09 at $ 65.00
Maple Leaf Foods—————–up $ 0.75 at $ 26.85
Nutrien Ltd.———————up $ 0.78 at $ 82.93
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc.—-up $ 3.53 at $ 73.23
Farmers Edge Inc.—————-dn $ 0.005 at $ 0.18
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
