Canadian dollar and business outlook

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar was softer Tuesday morning, with positioning ahead of Wednesday’s Bank of Canada’s policy announcement behind some of the activity.

At 9:16 a.m. CST the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.7420 or US$1=C$1.3477, which compares with Monday’s close of US$0.7433 or US$1=C$1.3454.

Canada’s new housing price index was unchanged in December, with prices steady to lower in 21 of the 27 census metropolitan areas surveyed, according to a report from Statistics Canada. New home prices were down by 0.9 per cent across the country on an annual basis.

Crude oil was softer early Tuesday, taking back some of its recent gains as support from ongoing geopolitical tensions was countered by rising supplies. West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down by 0.11 per cent at US$74.68 per barrel.

The TSX strengthened in early trade, rising by 110.74 points at 9:16 CST, trading at 21,035.04 points.