Canadian dollar and business outlook
By Phil Franz-Warkentin
Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar was weaker Monday morning in relatively thin trade.
Markets in the United States are closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, limiting some of the activity.
At 8:54 a.m. CST Monday morning the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.7442 or US$1=C$1.3437, which compares with Friday’s close of US$0.7470 or US$1=C$1.3387.
Canadian manufacturing sales were up by 1.2 per cent in November, hitting C$71.7 billion, according to a report from Statistics Canada. However, sales were down by 0.8 per cent on an annual basis. Wholesale sales in the country increased by 0.9 per cent in November compared to the previous month, hitting C$82.5 billion. Wholesale sales were down by 0.2 per cent on the year.
Crude oil was softer, with West Texas Intermediate crude oil down by 0.77 per cent at US$72.12 per barrel.
The TSX was weaker in early trade, losing 44.32 points at 8:54 CST, trading at 20,945.90 points.