Canadian Dollar And Business Outlook

By Commodity News Service Canada

WINNIPEG, August 9 (CNS Canada) The Canadian dollar strengthened slightly against its US counterpart Tuesday morning as crude oil steadies.

Oil traded around US$45 a barrel on Tuesday, supported by speculation of producer action and forecasts for a drop in US inventories, which are expected to fall by 1 million barrels in weekly reports.

However, traders are still concerned about a supply glut, which limited gains.

Canadian cities issued less building permits in June, according to Statistics Canada. Municipalities issued building permits worth C$6.4 billion in June, down 5.5 per cent from the previous month, limiting the loonie’s gains.

Lower construction plans for multi-family dwellings and institutional buildings were mostly responsible for the decline.

At 9:11 CDT Tuesday, the Canadian dollar was at US$0.7620 or US$=C$1.3123, which compares with Monday’s North American close of US$0.7597 or US$1=C$1.3163.

The TSX was up 50.11 points, or 0.32 per cent, at 9:11 CDT Tuesday morning to sit at 14,805.73.