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Canadian dollar and business outlook

| 1 min read

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

 

Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar was weaker Monday morning, with positioning ahead of the latest interest rate announcement from the United States Federal Reserve later in the week behind some of the activity in the currency markets.

At 9:00 a.m. CDT the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.7259 or US$1=C$1.3776, which compares with Friday’s close of US$0.7278 or US$1=C$1.3740.

Economists generally expect the U.S. Fed will leave rates unchanged this month, diverging from the Bank of Canada and the European Central Bank that both lowered rates last week. However, the U.S. is still expected to cut rates later in the year, and the accompanying statement will be followed closely.

U.S. inflation data will also be released Wednesday.

Crude oil was firm in early activity, with West Texas Intermediate crude oil up by 0.45 per cent at US$75.87 per barrel.

The TSX was softer, down 9.75 points at 9:00 CDT to trade at 21,997.25 points.