Loonie Takes a Step Back Amid Weakening Canadian Dollar
The Canadian dollar took another step back on Thursday morning, slipping to US$0.7233 or US$1=C$1.3830 compared to Wednesday's close of US$0.7247 or US$1=C$1.3798.
This decline comes as the United States Dollar Index added 0.266 of a point at 98.825, indicating a slight strengthening of the US dollar relative to its Canadian counterpart.
Crude oil prices surged higher on Thursday morning, with West Texas Intermediate jumping US$4.07 at US$100.12 per barrel and Brent crude surging US$4.12 at US$105.33/barrel, driven by ongoing conflict in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran.
The TSX/S&P Composite Index lost 288.53 points on Thursday morning at 35,618.03, while the DOW Jones fell 405.41 points at 52,380.66, the S&P 500 slipped 37.16 points at 7,636.36 and the NASDAQ pulled back 168.07 points at 26,253.34.