Greenback rally hits gold, oil prices... Loonie to drop to 70 cents on Trump impact says Caisse Desjardins... Potash cuts 140 jobs in Saskatchewan...
Greenback rally hits gold, oil prices
Commodities suffered a slump Wednesday as prices were impacted by a rising US dollar following mixed data including Fed minutes which support a December rise in interest rates.
Gold prices dropped more than 2 per cent and oil prices eased.
The decline for gold miners meant a 3 per cent drop for the materials sector of the main TSX index but healthcare wasn’t far behind as Valeant fell again after its outlook was downgraded by Mizuho Securities. Utilities led 6 sectors higher but the gains were relatively small.
Wall Street fared better while European indexes closed lower and Asian indexes were mixed.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 19.47 (0.13 per cent)
The Dow Jones closed up 59.31 (0.31 per cent)
Oil is trending lower (Brent $49.01, WTI $48.00 at 4.05pm)
Gold is trending lower (1188.70 at 4.05pm)
The loonie is valued at U$0.7411
Loonie to drop to 70 cents on Trump impact says Caisse Desjardins
Economists at Caisse Desjardins are forecasting tough times ahead for the loonie with its value sliding from the current 74 cents US to 73 by the end of this year and further declines to 70 cents by the end of 2017.
Factors in the decline include president-elect Trump’s economic plans which include lower taxes and high spending on infrastructure; and a US interest rate rise, which economists believe is a certainty.
Potash cuts 140 jobs in Saskatchewan
An oversupply of potash has resulted in Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan cutting 140 jobs at its Cory mine in the province. The firm is cutting output at the facility in half and mothballing its Lanigan mine for around 3 months in the new year.
Hundreds of jobs were cut at the firm at the start of 2016 due to the downturn in business due to a supply glut and it is merging with Agrium Inc. in a bid to make economies of scale.
Commodities suffered a slump Wednesday as prices were impacted by a rising US dollar following mixed data including Fed minutes which support a December rise in interest rates.
Gold prices dropped more than 2 per cent and oil prices eased.
The decline for gold miners meant a 3 per cent drop for the materials sector of the main TSX index but healthcare wasn’t far behind as Valeant fell again after its outlook was downgraded by Mizuho Securities. Utilities led 6 sectors higher but the gains were relatively small.
Wall Street fared better while European indexes closed lower and Asian indexes were mixed.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 19.47 (0.13 per cent)
The Dow Jones closed up 59.31 (0.31 per cent)
Oil is trending lower (Brent $49.01, WTI $48.00 at 4.05pm)
Gold is trending lower (1188.70 at 4.05pm)
The loonie is valued at U$0.7411
Loonie to drop to 70 cents on Trump impact says Caisse Desjardins
Economists at Caisse Desjardins are forecasting tough times ahead for the loonie with its value sliding from the current 74 cents US to 73 by the end of this year and further declines to 70 cents by the end of 2017.
Factors in the decline include president-elect Trump’s economic plans which include lower taxes and high spending on infrastructure; and a US interest rate rise, which economists believe is a certainty.
Potash cuts 140 jobs in Saskatchewan
An oversupply of potash has resulted in Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan cutting 140 jobs at its Cory mine in the province. The firm is cutting output at the facility in half and mothballing its Lanigan mine for around 3 months in the new year.
Hundreds of jobs were cut at the firm at the start of 2016 due to the downturn in business due to a supply glut and it is merging with Agrium Inc. in a bid to make economies of scale.
