Canadian Dollar And Business Outlook

By Commodity News Service Canada

Winnipeg, December 20 – The Canadian dollar opened weaker against
its US counterpart on Friday, undermined by weaker-than-expected
Canadian economic data, industry watchers said.
According to Statistics Canada, retail sales in October were down
0.1% to C$40.72 billion, which was below the 0.2% gain economists were
expecting.
Statistics Canada also reported that the consumer price index in
November was up 0.9%, which was also below trade expectations of a 1.0%
rise.
Stronger-than-expected growth in the US economy added to the
loonie’s bearish tone. The US Department of Commerce said the US gross
domestic product for the third-quarter grew by 4.1%, beating
expectations of a 3.6% increase.
However, gains seen in commodities, including gold and copper,
limited any further losses.
At 8:43 CST Friday, the Canadian dollar was at US$0.9342 or
US$=C$1.0704 which compares with Thursday’s North American close of
US$0.9376, or US$=C$1.0666.
The TSX was up 81.82 points Friday morning at 8:43 CST, to sit at
13,474.02.