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Canadian dollar and business outlook

| 1 min read

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar was showing some modest strength Friday morning, with gains in crude oil providing underlying support.

At 8:39 a.m. CST the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.7419 or US$1=C$1.3479, which compares with Thursday’s close of US$0.7405 or US$1=C$1.3505.

Canadian retail sales dipped by 0.2 per cent in November compared to the previous month, hitting C$66.6 billion, according to a report from Statistics Canada. Core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and motor vehicle sales, were down by 0.6 per cent. Early estimates for December point to a 0.8 per cent rise in sales during the month.

Crude oil was higher, with West Texas Intermediate crude oil up by 0.73 per cent at US$74.62 per barrel.

The TSX edged lower in early trade, down by 38.31 points at 8:52 CST, trading at 20,718.42 points.