MONEY IN BRIEF

Currencies

OTTAWA (CP) — These are indicative wholesale rates for foreign currency provided by the Bank of Canada on Friday. Quotations in Canadian funds. Australia dollar 0.9595

Brazil real 0.3424

China renminbi 0.1934

Euro 1.5155

Hong Kong dollar 0.1702

India rupee 0.01877

Indonesia rupiah 0.000092

Japan yen 0.0118

Malaysia ringgit 0.3192

Mexico peso 0.06565

N.Z. dollar 0.9131

Norway krone 0.1567

Peruvian new sol 0.3947

Russia rouble 0.02006

Saudi riyal 0.3545

Singapore dollar 0.9708

South Africa rand 0.09427

South Korean won 0.001184 Sweden krona 0.1474 Switzerland franc 1.3415 Taiwanese dollar 0.04302 Thailand baht 0.04049

Turkey lira 0.2511

U.K. pound 1.695

U.S. dollar 1.3299

Vietnam dong 0.000057

The markets today

TORONTO (CP) — Major North American markets experienced steep drops Friday following weeks of declines and volatility. This week is “one for the history books,” said James Robertson, senior portfolio manager at Manulife Asset Management Ltd. “Intra-day volatility has been so extreme.”

The S&P/TSX composite index retreated 141.87 points to 14,795.13 despite being in positive territory earlier in the day. The index opened on positive employment data, he said. Canada’s unemployment rate last month was the lowest since Statistics Canada started measuring comparable data more than 40 years ago as the jobless rate fell to 5.6 per cent for November, according to the agency. The country also added 94,100 net jobs, which is the largest monthly increase since March 2012. Energy stocks also helped boost the index early on as oil prices rose. The January crude contract rose US$1.12 to US$52.61 per barrel.

The commodity price increased on news that OPEC countries reached an agreement to reduce global oil production by 1.2 million barrels a day – 800,000 by OPEC countries and 400,000 by Russia and other non-OPEC members – for six months starting in January.

The energy sector finished the day on a positive note, but it wasn’t enough to lift the TSX as the market tone deteriorated over the course of the day.

In New York, markets also ended the day in the red. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 558.72 points to 24,388.95. The S&P 500 index shed 62.87 points to 2,633.08 while the Nasdaq composite fell 219.01 points to 6,969.25.

The February gold contract gained US$9.00 to US$1,252.60.