Canadian dollar and business outlook

Glacier FarmMedia — The Canadian dollar was slightly firmer Friday morning, as financial markets reacted to optimistic trade updates, including a deal on dairy with New Zealand and talk that Canada was advancing discussions with South America’s Mercosur group.

At 9:39 a.m. CDT the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.7288 or US$1=C$1.3721 which compares with Thursday’s close of US$0.7271 or US$1=C$1.3753.

The total value of investment in building construction was down by 2.2 per cent in Canada in May at C$21.8 billion, reported Statistics Canada. Investment in the residential sector was down 3.0 per cent while the non-residential sector dipped by 0.4 per cent.

Crude oil was strong in early trade, with West Texas Intermediate up 1.51 per cent at US$68.56 per barrel.

The TSX backed away from its record highs hit Thursday, losing 32.76 points at 9:39 CDT to trade at 27,354.17.