Canadian dollar and business outlook

By Commodity News Service Canada

WINNIPEG, January 5 The Canadian dollar held mostly steady against its US counterpart on Tuesday, as a sell-off in global markets tapered off.

At 8:50 a.m. CST the Canadian dollar was US$0.7171 or C$1.3945 which compares with Monday’s North American close of US$0.7173, or C$1.3941.

In Canadian economic data, the industrial product price index declined 0.2 per cent in November, mainly as a result of lower prices for primary non-ferrous metal products. The raw materials price index fell four per cent, led by lower prices for crude energy products, Statistics Canada said in a report on Tuesday.

The TSX was stronger in early activity, up 11.74 points at 8:50 a.m. CST to sit at 12,938.89.