Canadian dollar and business outlook

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar was holding near unchanged Monday morning.

At 9:18 a.m. CDT the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.7359 or US$1=C$1.3589, which compares with Friday’s close of US$0.7361 or US$1=C$1.3586.

Canadian home sales were up by 1.3 per cent in August compared to the previous month but still down by 2.1 per cent on an annual basis, according to updated data from the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Manufacturing sales in Canada rose by 1.4 per cent in July to hit C$71.0 billion, reported Statistics Canada. The petroleum and coal sector saw the largest increase, rising by 6.7 per cent. The Industrial Products Price Index was unchanged on the month while the Raw Materials Price Index rose 0.7 per cent.

Crude oil was stronger in early activity, with West Texas Intermediate crude oil up by 2.72 per cent at US$70.52 per barrel.

The TSX was firm, rising 35.00 points at 9:18 CDT to trade at 23,603.65.