Canadian dollar and business outlook

By Commodity News Service Canada

WINNIPEG – The Canadian dollar was stronger Thursday morning, as the currency continued to see a correction off of its nearby lows relative to the US dollar.

At 9:04 CST Thursday morning the Canadian dollar was at US$0.6956 or C$1.4376 which compares with Wednesday’s North American close of US$0.6901 or C$1.4490.

Wednesday’s decision by the Bank of Canada to leave interest rates unchanged remained somewhat supportive, as many economists had anticipated a cut in the key overnight rate.

A firmer tone in crude oil also helped underpin the energy-linked Canadian dollar on Thursday.

In domestic data, there were 544,200 people receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits in November, which was up by 0.6% from the previous month, according to Statistics Canada.

The TSX was weaker, down 61.25 points at 9:04 CST to sit at 11,781.86.