Canadian dollar and business outlook

Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm — The Canadian dollar was slightly softer Wednesday morning.

At 9:07 a.m. CST the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.7147 or US$1=C$1.3992 which compares with Tuesday’s close of US$0.7153 or US$1=C$1.3981.

Investment in building construction in Canada rose 2.1 per cent in September to hit C$21.6 billion, reported Statistics Canada. The residential sector was up 2.9 per cent while the non-residential sector was 0.3 per cent higher. Annual investment in building construction was up by 6.7 per cent.

Crude oil was firmer, with West Texas Intermediate crude oil up by 1.02 per cent at US$70.10 per barrel.

The TSX was weaker in early activity, losing 13.74 points at 9:08 CST to trade at 24,997.03.