TORONTO -
The Canadian dollar closed higher against the American currency Wednesday amid a sharp run-up in commodity prices.
The loonie rose 0.21 of a US cent to 103.03 cents US.
Oil prices advanced amid a crude supply report that provided signals of higher demand while the greenback weakened slightly against other currencies after the U.S. Federal Reserve released minutes that showed that officials at the central bank were not planning to tighten monetary policy soon.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that U.S. crude inventories were unchanged last week against analyst expectations of an increase of 500,000 barrels.
The EIA also said that inventories of gasoline were up 100,000 barrels, far less than the analysts' expectations of a 600,000 barrel increase.
The June crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $3.19 to US$100.10 a barrel.
Metals were also higher with the July copper contract on the Nymex up 11 cents at US$4.11 a pound.
Precious metals advanced as the June gold contract in New York climbed $15.80 to US$1,495.80 an ounce.
On the economic front, a gauge of future economic activity was positive in April. Statistics Canada said that eight of 10 components were up as the composite leading index rose 0.8 per cent. The increase followed a 0.6 per cent gain in March.
Also, Canadian wholesale sales turned around in March, edging up 0.1 per cent to $46.8 billion following a 0.9 per cent decline in February. Statistics Canada said there were gains in the motor vehicle and parts and miscellaneous subsectors. But these were offset by declines in other areas, including the machinery, equipment and supplies and food subsectors.
