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Canadian dollar and business outlook

| 1 min read

By Commodity News Service Canada

WINNIPEG, February 21 The Canadian dollar was down sharply against the US dollar after the release of disappointing Canadian retail sales data Friday morning.

Statistics Canada reported that retail sales dropped 1.8 per cent in December, while economists expected a decline of only 0.4 per cent.

At 8:30 CST Friday the Canadian dollar was at US$0.8969 or US$=C$1.1149, which compares with Thursday’s North American close of US$0.9010 or US$=C$1.1099.

Concerns about slow global economic growth, especially in China, were also bearish for the Canadian dollar, according to analysts.

However, better than expected Canadian inflation data helped to slow the loonie’s drop. StatsCan reported the consumer price index was up 1.5 per cent in January compared to the same time last year, beating expectations of a 1.3 per cent jump.

The TSX was up 90.64 points, or 0.64%, at 8:30 CST Friday morning to sit at 14,210.37.