By Glen Hallick
Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar climbed above 71 U.S. cents on Friday morning, due to increases in crude oil and the employment report from Statistics Canada.
As of 8:36 am CST, the loonie was at US$0.7106 or US$1=C$1.4074 compared to Thursday’s close of US$0.7084 or US$1=C$1.4116. On the U.S. Dollar Index, the greenback dipped 0.155 of a point at 99.430.
StatCan said 67,000 jobs were added in October compared to analysts’ calls for a small decline of 2,500. The increase lowered October’s unemployment rate to 6.9 per cent.
Benchmark crude oil prices swung higher on Friday morning, on news that China’s October crude imports were up 8.2 per cent compared to a year ago. However, crude prices are headed to a loss on the week.
West Texas Intermediate gained 49 cents at US$59.92 per barrel and Brent crude oil rose 46 cents at US$63.84 per barrel.
In morning activity, the TSX/S&P Composite Index dropped 246.78 points at 29,621.81.
Gold advanced US$20.60 at US$4,011.80 per ounce.
