Canadian dollar and business outlook

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar was holding near unchanged Wednesday morning, as investors await the release of the United States Federal Reserve’s minutes from their January meeting later in the day. The financial markets will be watching the minutes closely for signs of future rate moves from the central bank.

At 8:40 a.m. CST the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.7395 or US$1=C$1.3523, which compares with Tuesday’s close of US$0.7398 or US$1=C$1.3518.

Canada’s new housing price index dipped by 0.1 per cent in January compared to the previous month, according to a report from Statistics Canada, with prices steady or lower in 21 of the 27 census metropolitan areas surveyed. New home prices were down 0.7 per cent on an annual basis.

Crude oil was steady in early trade, with West Texas Intermediate crude down by 0.05 per cent at US$77.00 per barrel.

The TSX was weaker, losing 60.55 points at 8:40 CST to trade at 21,156.98 points.