Canadian dollar and business outlook

By Commodity News Service Canada

WINNIPEG, June 1 (CNS Canada) The Canadian dollar weakened against its US counterpart Wednesday morning, taking a slight hit due to falling crude oil prices and weak factory data from China.

Oil prices fell on expectations of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) inaction on output as the group focuses on market share, and concerns about China’s economy weighed on the demand outlook.

Data showed China’s official factory activity gauge expanded minimally in May, while a private survey showed deteriorating conditions over the past 15 months.

At 9:31 a.m. CDT, the Canadian dollar was at US$0.7624 or
C$1.3116 which compares with Tuesday’s North American close of
US$0.7628, or C$1.3110.

New York Mercantile crude oil futures had lost US$1.14 to sit at US$47.96 a barrel, as of 9:31 CDT.

In Canadian domestic data, capital expenditures for the oil and gas extraction industries totalled C$10.7 billion in the first quarter, down 31.2 per cent from the first quarter of 2015, Statistics Canada said in a report on Wednesday.

The TSX was weaker in early activity, down 47.35 points at 9:31 a.m. CDT to sit at 14,018.43.