Canadian Dollar And Business Outlook

By Commodity News Service Canada

WINNIPEG, Jan. 18 The Canadian dollar was firmer Monday morning, seeing some consolidation after hitting multi-year lows last week. US markets are closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, keeping some caution in the currency markets.

At 8:54 CST Monday morning the Canadian dollar was at US$0.6886 or C$1.4522 which compares with Friday’s North American close of US$0.6882, or C$1.4530.

Crude oil prices were down Monday morning, which did weigh on the energy-linked Canadian currency.

There were no significant economic releases in early activity, but traders are already positioning themselves ahead of the Bank of Canada interest rate announcement on Wednesday. Some economists are anticipating a rate cut, while others expect the bank will hold its key overnight rate unchanged at 0.5%.

The TSX was weaker, down 53.11 points at 8:54 CST to sit at 12,008.26.