Canadian dollar and business outlook

By Commodity News Service Canada

WINNIPEG, August 21 – The Canadian dollar weakened slightly
against its US counterpart Friday morning despite Statistics
Canada’s better than expected report on retail trade and the Consumer
Price Index.

At 8:30 a.m. CDT the Canadian dollar was at US$0.7644 or C$1.3082
which compares with Thursday’s North American close of US$0.7645,
or C$1.3081.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.3 per cent in the 12 months
to July, after increasing one per cent in June, Statistics Canada
said on Friday.

StatsCan says lower energy prices moderated the year-over-year
rise in the CPI, but the effect was less pronounced in July than in
the previous month. In particular, the gasoline index was down 12.2
per cent in the 12 months to July, compared with a 14.1 per cent
decrease in June.

In other Canadian economic data, retail sales increased 0.6 per
cent to C$43.2 billion in June. Sales were up in eight of 11
subsectors, representing 64 per cent of retail trade, StatsCan says.

In the first six months of 2015, retail sales were up 2.2 per
cent compared with the same period in 2014.

The TSX was weaker in early activity, down 299.63 points at 8:30
a.m. CDT to sit at 13,737.00.