Canadian dollar and business outlook

By Commodity News Service Canada

WINNIPEG, August 31 – The Canadian dollar weakened against its
US counterpart Monday morning as crude oil prices fell, and as
Statistics Canada released a report on Canada’s balance of
international payments.

At 8:55 a.m. CDT the Canadian dollar was at US$0.7509 or C$1.3317
which compares with Friday’s North American close of US$0.7567, or
C$1.3215.

In the October Light Sweet Crude Oil futures contract, prices
fell US$1.11 to sit at US$44.11.

Canada’s current-account deficit narrowed, according to data
from Statistics Canada, but was still the third-largest on record
in the second quarter, analysts say.

Canada’s current account deficit (on a seasonally adjusted
basis) narrowed by C$0.7 billion in the second quarter to C$17.4
billion. The reduction in the deficit was mainly reflected in the
trade in goods and services balance, Statistics Canada said in a
report on Monday.

The TSX was weaker in early activity, down 87.95 points at 8:55
a.m. CDT to sit at 13,777.12.