Canadian dollar and business outlook
Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm — The Canadian dollar was weaker Thursday morning, pressured by relatively solid economic data out of the United States.
Initial jobless claims in the U.S. dipped to their lowest level since May in the latest report, coming in at 217,000. Meanwhile, the country’s producer price index was up by 0.2 per cent in October, which was inline with expectations.
At 8:35 a.m. CST the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.7138 or US$1=C$1.4010 which compares with Wednesday’s close of US$0.7153 or US$1=C$1.3980.
Currency traders will be following a speech from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later in the day for any indication of future monetary policy under Donald Trump’s upcoming presidency.
Crude oil was firmer, with West Texas Intermediate crude oil up by 1.27 per cent at US$69.30 per barrel.
The TSX was stronger in early activity, gaining 142.58 points at 8:35 CST to trade at 25,131.60.