Canadian Dollar and Business Outlook

By Commodity News Service Canada

Winnipeg – Mar 28/13 – CNS – The Canadian dollar was trading
at a level that was little changed against its US counterpart at
8:38 CT Thursday. The Canadian unit held flat as this morning’s
economic data in the US and Canada failed to have any kind of
significant impact on price trends, market watchers said.

Canada’s economy grew at a 0.2% rate in January, slightly
ahead of expectations of a tepid 0.1% pace. The US economy,
meanwhile, advanced at a 0.4% annual rate between October and
December, revised upward from last month’s reading of 0.1%
growth.

The Canadian dollar, which initially edged higher right
after the release of the data, returned swiftly to its previous
levels shortly afterward.

The Canadian currency’s brief gains were tempered by a
weaker reading of US jobless claims which increased by 16,000 to
a seasonally adjusted 357,000 in the week ended March 23. It was
the second week in a row that saw an increase in jobless claims,
a possible sign that the US’s labor market may have lost a bit of
momentum.

The Canadian dollar was largely flat in overnight trading,
despite a 2.8% fall in China’s equity market, a soft German
unemployment report and the re-opening of banks in Cyprus, albeit
with substantial capital controls in place.

Firmness in crude oil values had provided some early
strength to the Canadian dollar as well, brokers said.

At 08:38 CDT Thursday, the Canadian dollar was at US$1.0163
or US$=C$0.9839, which compares with Wednesday’s North American
close of US$1.0162 or US$=C$0.98.40.

The TSX was down 32.45 points at 08:38 CDT Thursday morning
to sit at 12,667.20.
END