Canadian dollar and business outlook

By Commodity News Service Canada

WINNIPEG, April 28 The Canadian dollar strengthened against its US counterpart on Thursday as crude oil futures gained, and weak US domestic data weighed on the greenback.

At 8:41 a.m. CDT, the Canadian dollar was at US$0.7943 or C$1.2590 which compares with Wednesday’s North American close of US$0.7925, or C$1.2619.

New York Mercantile crude oil futures had gained US$0.27 to sit at US$45.60 a barrel, as of 8:41 CDT.

The US economy grew at its slowest pace in two years, moving at 0.5 per cent, which pressured the US currency.

In Canadian domestic data, average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were C$954 in February, little changed from the previous month and the previous year.

The TSX was weaker in early activity, down 86.13 points at 8:41 a.m. CDT to sit at 13,801.53.