Canadian Dollar And Business Outlook

By Commodity News Service Canada

WINNIPEG, August 30 (CNS Canada) The Canadian dollar weakened against its US counterpart Tuesday morning, falling with soft Canadian data.

Canada’s current account deficit increased C$3.3 billion in the second quarter to a near-record C$19.9 billion as the trade in goods deficit continued to widen, according to Statistics Canada, weighing on the loonie.

The deficit on international trade goods expanded to a record C$11.3 billion in the second quarter, the third straight quarterly increase of the goods deficit.

US Federal Reserve vice chairman Stanley Fischer said on Tuesday the US job market is nearly at full strength and an interest rate hike will depend on how well the economy is doing, also weighing on the Canadian dollar.

However, Wall Street opened little changed as investors continue to look for more concrete clues for the possible timing of the next interest rate hike.

At 9:04 CDT Tuesday, the Canadian dollar was at US$0.7654 or US$=C$1.3065, which compares with Monday’s North American close of US$0.7679 or US$1=C$1.3022.

The TSX was up 89.64 points, or 0.62 per cent, at 9:04 CDT Tuesday morning to sit at 14,771.61.