Canadian dollar and business outlook

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar was holding relatively steady Thursday morning.

At 8:46 a.m. CDT the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.7315 or US$1=C$1.3671, which compares with Wednesday’s close of US$0.7313 or US$1=C$1.3674.

An estimated 470,000 Canadians received regular employment insurance benefits in March, which was up by only 0.1 per cent from February, according to a report from Statistics Canada. The country’s unemployment rate rose 0.3 point in March to hit 6.1 per cent.

Crude oil was stronger in early activity, with West Texas Intermediate crude oil up by 1.37 per cent at US$78.63 per barrel.

The TSX was stronger, up 40.04 points at 8:46 CDT to trade at 22,386.80 points.