Canadian dollar and business outlook

Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm — The Canadian dollar was slightly firmer Thursday morning, edging above the 70 U.S. cent mark.

At 8:36 a.m. CST the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.7001 or US$1=C$1.4284 which compares with Wednesday’s close of US$0.6994 or US$1=C$1.4298.

Investment in building construction in Canada rose 1.9 per cent in December to C$21.8 billion, reported Statistics Canada. The residential sector was up by 2.2 per cent at C$15.1 billion, while the non-residential sector increased 1.3 per cent at C$6.7 billion.

Crude oil was softer in early trade, with West Texas Intermediate crude oil down by 0.94 per cent at US$70.70 per barrel.

The TSX was firmer, gaining 34.41 points at 8:36 CST to trade at 25,597.52.