Canadian dollar and business outlook

Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm — The Canadian dollar was stronger Thursday morning, underpinned by gains in crude oil.

At 9:10 a.m. CST the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.7176 or US$1=C$1.3935 which compares with Wednesday’s close of US$0.7146 or US$1=C$1.3993.

Canada’s Industrial Product Price Index was up by 1.2 per cent in October compared to the previous month, posting annual gains of 1.1 per cent, reported Statistics Canada. The country’s Raw Materials Price Index was up by 3.8 per cent from September, but still down by 2.8 per cent annually.

The escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as the countries launched missiles against each other, sparked a rally in crude oil. West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up by 1.88 per cent at US$70.04 per barrel.

The TSX was stronger in early activity, gaining 139.06 points at 9:10 CST to trade at 25,175.52.