Canadian Financial Close: C$ firm ahead of BoC

Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm — The Canadian dollar was slightly firmer on Tuesday, holding near unchanged ahead of Wednesday’s Bank of Canada interest rate announcement.

Many investors anticipate a 50-basis-point cut to the central bank’s overnight rate on Wednesday and will be reading the accompanying statement closely for signs of future moves.

The Canadian dollar settled at US$0.7233 or US$1=C$1.3825 on Tuesday, which compares with Monday’s close of US$0.7228 or US$1=C$1.3835.

Canada’s Industrial Product Price Index was down by 0.6 per cent in September compared to the previous month, with an annual decline of 0.9 per cent, according to a report from Statistics Canada. The Raw Materials Price Index lost 3.1 per cent on the month and was down by 8.8 per cent annually.

Crude oil was firmer, with West Texas crude oil up by 2.38 per cent at US$72.24 per barrel.

The TSX Composite Index was slightly lower, down by 6.63 points to close at 24,716.70 points.