Canadian dollar and business outlook

Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm — The Canadian dollar was softer relative to its United States counterpart Monday morning as currency traders await the latest interest rate decision from the Bank of Canada later in the week.

Many investors now anticipate a 50-basis-point cut to the central bank’s overnight rate on Wednesday.

At 8:33 a.m. CDT the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.7236 or US$1=C$1.3820 which compares with Friday’s close of US$0.7245 or US$1=C$1.3802.

Crude oil was stronger, with West Texas Intermediate crude oil up by 1.82 per cent at US$70.48 per barrel.

The TSX continued to hit fresh highs to start the week, up 61.91 points at 8:33 CDT to trade at 24,884.45.