Canadian dollar and business outlook

By Commodity News Service Canada

WINNIPEG, August 20 – The Canadian dollar weakened against its
US counterpart Thursday morning as Statistics Canada released a
report on wholesale trade, and as American analysts say they expect
a delayed interest rate hike from the US Federal Reserve.

At 8:55 a.m. CDT the Canadian dollar was at US$0.7625 or C$1.3114
which compares with Wednesday’s North American close of US$0.7628,
or C$1.3110.

Wholesale sales rose 1.3 per cent to C$55.3 billion in June.
In the second quarter of 2015, wholesale sales rose 2.1 per cent
compared with the first quarter, Statistics Canada said in a report
on Thursday.

According to StatsCan, in volume terms, wholesale sales rose
1.1 per cent in June.

Currency analysts pored over the minutes of the Fed’s July
meeting, which indicated little consensus among policy-makers on
when to raise interest rates.

The TSX was weaker in early activity, down 107.79 points at 8:55
a.m. CDT to sit at 13,928.84.