Canadian dollar and business outlook

By Commodity News Service Canada

WINNIPEG, February 20 The Canadian dollar was little changed compared to the US dollar Thursday morning, as the market was consolidating following Wednesday’s sharp drop, analysts said.

At 8:45 CST Thursday the Canadian dollar was at US$0.9022 or US$=C$1.1084, which compares with Wednesday’s North American close of US$0.9024 or US$=C$1.1082.

Disappointing Chinese economic data, and the resulting weakness in commodity prices, were bearish for the loonie. HSBC’s monthly purchasing managers’ index for China fell to 48.3 in February, from 49.5 in January, preliminary data showed.

Positioning ahead of Friday’s Canadian inflation data was a feature of the trade. Expectations call for Canada’s January core and headline inflation to come in at 1.3 per cent.

The TSX was up 4.31 points, or 0.03%, at 8:45 CST Thursday morning to sit at 14,124.04.